Revelations
by ellex0
Summary: When Darien is knocked unconscious during a Youma attack, repressed memories resurface. This new knowledge of the Silver Millenium turns our heroes' lives upside down as they come to terms with their past, search for the lost Generals, recover the Golden Crystal, and battle against a growing evil. xo s/d, senshi/shitnneou.
1. PROLOGUE: Setting the Scene

Hi there, everyone! Sorry for the new chapter update – although I AM more than halfway through the newest installment of Revelations! Something about the flow of this story is a bit off, so I'm going back and doing some edits now that my life is a bit less hectic. Nothing major – and I won't say anything more in case this is your first visit.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor do I profit from this in any way. Other than the ego boost from reviews. So, Yeah.

Love always, Elle.

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><p><strong>PROLOGUE: Setting the Scene<strong>

"Venus, watch out!" screamed Sailor Mars. The blonde heroine turned just in time to see a burst of dark energy heading toward her. She cursed and leapt away without a second to spare. As she landed, she turned on her heel and sent her own attack flying back at the Youma.

She gave a satisfied smirk as the Youma struggled against her Love-Me Chain, crying out as the golden sparks burned its gray skin. Or scales? This Youma was a whole different breed of ugly. It was a snake-like creature which also had four arms and seemed to be made of pure muscle. It was also super charged with dark energy, much like the other creatures they had been battling all week.

"Try this on for size, Co-Brat!" yelled Sailor Moon, trying to draw the Youma's attention away from Sailor Venus.

"…Really?" smirked Tuxedo Mask. Serena glared at him, but with his crooked grin and twinkling midnight eyes, she could hardly be angry at him. And she had to admit, that was pretty lame, as far as tough-talk went. However, it was the best her exhausted brain could come up with.

"What?" he asked innocently. He lad leapt over to stand beside her, warily eyeing the Youma-snake which had cocked its head in their direction. "How about we finish off this sucker? Though," he whispered huskily, his arm sliding around her and pulling her close, "that's an awful lot of snakeskin to waste. How about, when this is over, we make you a little something out of it? I'd love to see you in something like that… ouph!"

Serena had just elbowed him in the ribs. She was glaring up at him again, but this time she was blushing. She could feel the familiar butterflies in her stomach and her heart was beating fast, but this wasn't the time or the place.

Darien seemed to take the hint and ran a hand through his unruly black hair, rumpling it even further. "Right. I guess we'll just have to save that for later. Finish off old co-brat and let's get this over with."

He knew the elbow was coming this time and blithely avoided it, chuckling the whole time.

"Hey you two, any day now!" yelled Sailor Mars, this time annoyed. "In case you don't remember, this is the fourth night this week that we're missing sleep for these bastards! Just finish him off so we can go home!" Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus nodded in agreement, although they were grinning. Sailor Mercury was still clicking away at her computer, trying to find the Youma's weakest point.

Sailor Moon had the good grace to look sheepishly at Sailor Mars. However, she was brought back to the reality of the situation when the Youma began to charge up another burst of dark energy – this time aimed right at her. She knew she had only seconds to react, but with all of her training, she didn't feel the slightest bit panicked. Rather, she just felt tired. So tired, all she wanted was to curl up in bed and sleep for hours…

She gave her head a quick shake to clear her thoughts and forced her eyes to open. Running toward the Youma, she summoned her Moon Spiral Heart Rod and began to channel her energy through it. As the scepter began to glow, she started to yell out her attack. This Youma didn't stand a chance!

"Moon Spiral Heart Attaaarrrrgh!"

As she was racing forward, her foot caught on.. well, it was hard to say. One moment Sailor Moon had been charging toward the Youma and the next, she was sprawled face first on the ground.

"Get up, meatball head!" Sailor Mars yelled. Her voice had an edge of panic. The Youma had finished charging its attack and held a ball of dark, crackling energy in each of its four hands. Sailor Moon was now at point blank range.

Realizing this, Sailor Moon jumped to her feet, bones aching. Her warrior's mind was running through her list of options at lightning speed, but it looked bleak. The snake-like Youma was smirking at her as it tossed a ball of sizzling, black energy it one of its hands.

In a split second, the creature had sent all four blasts directly toward Sailor Moon. She skillfully raised her Moon Rod to protect herself; four flashes of white light merging into one has the blasts collided with her own protective energy shield.

As the last blast hit, Tuxedo Mask was right behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist in an attempt to carry her to safety. However, the Youma saw this and violently grabbed Tuxedo Mask's arm. This caused him to unceremoniously drop Serena and she found herself face first on the ground for the second time in as many minutes.

However, this time she didn't waste a second in springing to her feet. Tuxedo Mask was still the Youma's clutches. She had to save him!

Before she had time to do anything, the Youma hurled her prince more than forty feet through the air. She watched, horrified, as he landed with a sickening thud. Tears threatened to completely block her vision, but she knew what she must do before she could attend to her breaking heart.

"Sailor Moon! FINISH HIM!" screamed Sailor Mars.

Her words were unnecessary. Sailor Moon had already fired off her attack, turning the Youma into dust. Before the Youma's ashes even hit the ground, she was running to Tuxedo Mask's side.

As she knelt down beside him, she could see his chest rising and falling with his labored breathing. Golden, healing sparks were already working their magic around a scrape on his head. Sailor Moon gently lifted his head and saw that he must have knocked himself unconscious on the rock he had landed on. He was lucky to be alive. Her stomach dropped at the thought. She had already lost him too many times. He had to be alright.

"Sailor Moon, don't touch him!" yelled Sailor Mercury as the others crowded around the couple. "He may have injuries, it's best not to move him until I can scan him!"

"Oh!" inhaled Sailor Moon, gently placing Tuxedo Mask's head back in the grass.

"How is he?" asked Sailor Jupiter. "It looks like he's going to have a goose-egg on his head in the morning – that rock is huge! He'll be lucky if he doesn't have a concussion! …I mean, I'm sure everything will be fine!" She gulped and took a step backwards as she saw Sailor Moon glaring up at her. Despite being nearly a foot shorter than her, Sailor Moon could be intimidating as hell.

"Well," said Sailor Mercury, snapping her computer shut, "He doesn't appear to have a concussion, although he's sure to have quite the headache in the morning. No broken bones or anything though, so it should be safe to move him."

"Where should we take him? Back to his apartment?" asked Sailor Venus.

Sailor Moon nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Sailor Mercury, do you know how long until he'll wake up?"

"With his healing powers working full force, he should regain consciousness within an hour or two… which means we should probably move him now. The sun's coming up, and people are always jogging through this section of the park."

The Scouts glanced to the sky and saw that the darkness was slowly fading. Yet another sleepless night. No one spoke the words, but they all wondered how many more would be in their future.

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"Ugh! Darien weighs a ton! Serena, you should start doing the cooking. Then he won't eat nearly as much!"

Serena turned to Rai with her hands on her hips. They had just succeeded in carrying Tuxedo Mask from the park to his own sofa and had finally let their transformations fade. Even with five of them, it was no easy feat. "For your information…"

She was cut off by Mina, "Oh hush, you know lover boy is all muscle! I wonder which one is the biggest…" She raised her eyebrows suggestively at Serena, who turned bright red (along with Ami).

"SHUT UP!" She screeched. It was a testament to the strength of the double pained glass windows in Darien's apartment that they didn't shatter. Darien, however, was not immune to Serena's screech, despite the fact that he was practically comatose.

"Aarrgh," he grumbled, his eyes squinting in the brightness of his living room and lifting a hand to his throbbing head in a vain attempt to protect himself from all the noise.

"Oh Darien!" sobbed Serena, at once forgetting her previous plan to push both Mina and Rai off of the balcony with two well-executed maneuvers. She threw her arms around him and sighed with relief.

However, her relief was short lived, as Darien tensed and roughly threw her off of his chest.

"Did I hurt you?" she demanded, her expression half worried, half wounded.

Despite her outward childish behavior toward Rai and Mina, Serena had been silently beside herself with worry about Darien. Her own carelessness was to blame for his injury. It seemed like he never tired of coming to her rescue, and she could recall a few times when she had saved his life, but nevertheless she worried that he viewed his role as protector as a chore. Not that he never did anything to give that impression – in fact she was sure she would have felt it through their connection if he did. Still, she worried…

His expression wasn't doing anything to abate that worry. Darien slowly pulled himself into a sitting position on the sofa. He rested his head in his hands, and Serena couldn't help but notice not only a grimace of pain but also confusion.

She reached out across their connection to see what the problem could be, but when Darien felt her energy, he pulled away and sat bolt upright. Suddenly he looked around and saw the other girls standing in his living room.

Clearing his throat, he tuned to them. "Hi girls," he forced a smile, "Thanks for taking care of me. I'm fine though, really. I appreciate you bringing you back here, and I'm sure you gave everyone who saw you a laugh (at this his lips actually did curve into a smile), but I think it'd be best of you all cleared out and let me get some rest."

Ami looked about to protest, but Darien met her gaze and insisted that he was really fine.

The four Scouts agreed, knowing that Darien was in good hands with Serena, and headed towards the door, wishing the couple a good night. They were almost outside when Darien noticed that Serena was still perched on the floor next to him.

He looked down at her, his gaze almost as harsh as his tone, and said, "Really, Serena, I'm fine. Please just go."

"Wh-what?" She stammered. There was an audible gasp from one of the Scouts, but this barely registered to the shocked blonde. She had been spending almost every Friday and Saturday night with Darien for almost a year now, with her mother under the impression that she was staying at one of the girls' houses. This was the standing arrangement, and it had never been broken before, not even for battles far worse.

"You heard me… leave," Darien said again, this time outright glaring at her. Then, noticing the four girls still standing there, he put on a forced smile and continued, "Really, I just need some rest and I'll be fine. Thank you all again for making sure that I made it back here in once piece," he added again, pointedly looking at Lita, Mina, Rai, and Ami – avoiding Serena's gaze.

Serena was frozen, still looking up at him. The depths of her cerulean eyes revealed nothing but hurt and confusion.

Seeing her looking like this, he felt a tug on his heart. She was his love, his soul-mate, his princess. The only thing he hated more than seeing her in pain was being the one to cause it. But then the images from the vision he had had while knocked unconscious replayed themselves.

_Serenity's head was thrown back in ecstasy. Her hips moved wildly, in perfect harmony with his._

_The moon shone brightly in the night sky, and a cool breeze swept through the rose garden, filling the air with a sweet fragrance. The sounds of their passion were the only thing to break the peace of the summer night._

_Her lips met his in a fiery kiss, one that left them both breathless. Finally, she cried out and shortly after they were still._

_Serenity wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her deeply._

"_I love you," she whispered, gazing into his bottomless eyes._

"_And I you," he replied with a smile._

_Endymion watched the couple from the shadows, his mind overcome with fury, his heart overcome with betrayal._

Serena saw Darien's eyes soften for a moment before they turned back into a furious midnight blue. They were a stranger's eyes. They held no light or no love.

Shakily, she stood up and took a step backwards, tripping over the coffee table as she did so. She would have landed on the floor if it hadn't been for Darien's subconscious reflexes. He caught her in a cold embrace and released her as soon as she was stable.

Serena felt as though her world was closing down around her. What was wrong? Was he finally tired of saving her? From playing the role of her white knight? Normally, she would have tried to gain the answers from their soul-link, but, remembering what had happened only moments ago, she decided against it.

Instead, she forced a smile, "Alright, it does look like you need some rest. Call me in the morning. I love you." She said the last few words in a whisper.

"You too," Darien replied, and began to walk Serena and their audience to the door. Serena walked on unsteady legs and turned around as soon as she was outside, only to see Darien close his door without another glance toward her or the girls.

Serena felt her eyes fill with tears. She kept her eyes on the ground as she hurried towards the elevator. For once, the girls kept quiet. They exchanged glances, but didn't say a word about the exchange that had just taken place. Sure, Serena and Darien had fought before. But this seemed different. This seemed permanent.

But none of them said a word. Their only acknowledgement came when Ami squeezed Serena's hand as her princess's tears silently began to fall.

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Serena emerged from under her fortress of covers and groaned. It was Saturday, yet the sound of her alarm blaring had woken her from her comatose state. She sighed. With last night's battle and her exhaustion from every other battle this week, she must have forgotten to switch it off.

After a period of peace, the Youma attacks had been starting up again. This time they were worse than ever. She had barely made it back to her room on Friday morning before her alarm clock went off, signaling the third sleepless night that week. And not only were the frequencies of the attacks increasing – these Youmas were the strongest they had ever faced.

In fact, just last night, Darien had taken a bad hit protecting her. She and the girls had been forced to carry him back to his apartment.

_Darien!_

As the memory popped back into her head, she was overrun with guilt. If she hadn't been so careless, so irresponsible, he wouldn't have found himself being thrown halfway across the park.

They never should have left him last night. She never should have left his side. Why did she? Last night was Friday…

She gasped as the rest of the night came flooding back. The look in his eyes as he ushered her out of his apartment, his cold embrace, his words…

"_You heard me… leave."_

Unease gripped her heart. She bolted out of bed – and swore as she tripped over her sneakers and landed sprawled across the floor.

From where she landed, she could see her cell phone, which she had casually thrown on the floor after finally getting in last night as the sun was brightening the sky. She scrambled for it and flipped it open. There were a few texts from the Scouts and Molly, but nothing from her prince. Fighting off her growing sense of panic, she punched in his number. _What had happened last night to make him act so coldly?_

Serena managed to maneuver herself into a sitting position as she listened to the phone ringing, praying he would pick up. No such luck - her call reached Darien's voicemail. She vaguely registered his familiar voice, telling her to leave a message. However, her blood ran cold when she reached out to him over their connection. She couldn't find his usual golden warmth. Instead, she felt nothing. She felt broken.

Slamming the phone shut, Serena scrambled to put on the closest clothes in reach – a crumpled school uniform that she had discarded right next to, and with as much care as, her cell phone. With her shoes barely tied, she flew down the steps and out into the sunlight, slamming the front door behind her.

Her brother Sammy, who had been having breakfast in the kitchen, smirked after her. This was Serena, after all. It wouldn't be the first time that she thought she was late for school on the weekend.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed the first few scenes! If you are re-reading, only slight cosmetic changes were done to this chapter. Some edits will be very much more in depth.<p>

Reviews are always very much appreciated. As always, thank you for reading!


	2. CHAPTER ONE: Visions of the Past

**CHAPTER ONE: Visions of the Past**

Hi everyone, this chapter has also been edited. Some of the major edits take root in this chapter, so if you are getting this notification as a new chapter, I would highly suggest re-reading! As a side note, unedited chapters won't follow with the new updates, so a few things will not make sense until everything is fully updated and tied back together – which I will be doing over the next two days!

THANK YOU all for reading and for continuing to support this story. It really means the world to me to have people interested in my writing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor do I profit from this story.

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><p>Serena's feet pounded the pavement as she raced towards Darien's apartment. She was continuously reaching out through their link, but continued to feel a void. This worried her more than anything. Mina had always said that she would feel it if their bond broke, but what if it had happened when she was sleeping? What if Darien was… what if he was really gone this time? It would be all her fault, again…<p>

She tried to push the thoughts out of her head, but it was no use. She was on the brink of losing control over her emotions. Blinded by tears, she tripped over the uneven sidewalk and went down hard on one knee. As she scampered to get up, she fell again, sprawling on the sidewalk.

A passing couple stopped to help her, but she shoved their arms away and continued running. She was almost there, just a few more blocks. No rational thoughts could penetrate her sense of urgency, her need to see Darien.

After what felt to be an eternity, she rounded the corner to Darien's apartment and sprinted inside, not even pausing to greet the doorman, who started after her in concern. However, he was not able to catch up with her as she sprinted up the stairs, not pausing to wait for the elevator.

When she reached Darien's floor, Serena began to desperately pound on the door. "Darien, Darien please let me in!" She sobbed, not caring if his neighbors heard her. She tried the lock, but the door was locked, as she knew it would be.

Without even thinking, she reached inside herself to channel the power of the Silver Crystal. She reached toward the door again and, with a quick burst of pink energy, it swiftly swung open. Serena rushed inside, calling his name but receiving no answer.

Worst case scenarios were running through Serena's head as she took in her surroundings. She was standing in Darien's front hallway. In front of her was his immaculate living room, where the couch cushions were rumpled from last night. From her vantage point, nothing else appeared to have been touched.

The same could not be said about the kitchen, which opened up on her right. She gasped as she slowly walked inside, stepping carefully to avoid the wreckage. Envelopes and fruit were scattered across the floor among wooden debris from the cabinets, which appeared to be demolished.

"No, Darien, please no…"

Serena slowly backed out of the kitchen and made her way into Darien's bedroom, expecting the worst. She was terrified to break the silence that had infiltrated the apartment. Hesitantly, she pushed the door open. It swung easily on its hinges, revealing an unmade bed, but nothing more. It wasn't until Serena had checked both the bathroom and balcony that she realized she had been holding her breath. She let it out with a sigh that wasn't in any way filled with relief.

Serena's warrior training kicked in. After years of fighting and countless battles under her belt, she was fully in tune with her abilities. In many ways, she was nothing like the irresponsible fourteen year old who had first donned the sailor fuku. However, she had not lost the innocence and loyalty that had been that fourteen-year-old's greatest attributes. It was that sense of loyalty to her friends, to her planet, that kept her fighting. It was the same sense of loyalty that made her vow to get to the bottom of what had happened to her prince, no matter what the cost.

Serena mind raced as she warily retraced her steps through the apartment, scenarios for what could have happened to Darien, each worse than the one before. Shakily, she pulled out her communicator. If Darien had been abducted by their new enemy, it wasn't something she should handle alone.

As Serena punched in the buttons on her communicator, she took a steadying breath to compose herself. She knew the others would have questions, but she couldn't handle them right now. Not standing _here_, in the apartment they were starting to share.

Soon, the Scouts were on the line. "Hi everyone," said Serena, trying to put on a sunny smile but falling short, "sorry to wake you all…"

"It's almost noon, Meatball Head. You're the only one of us who would be asleep," grumbled Rai, seemingly out of reflex.

"Rai," warned Mina, silencing her. Rai paled as she noted Mina's authoritative tone and took in Serena's face on the small digital display.

"Sorry, Meatball Head. What'd you need?"

Serena took a deep breath, but was reassured by the four girls displayed on her communicator. When it came down to it - and it had - she wouldn't choose anyone else to stand behind her when the going got tough. They would have her back no matter if she were their reincarnated princess or not, and they had proven it time and time again. That's why, even though it was difficult, even though speaking the words somehow made it more real, Serena told them what she had found in Darien's apartment.

"Serena," said Lita urgently, "you need to get out of there, and quick. There's a chance that whoever took Darien may come back. Everyone, meet at the Shrine, now. Serena, listen to me, everything is going to be alright."

Serena nodded, tears streaming down her face. She snapped the communicator shut and slowly left Darien's apartment with her hands clutched to her chest. Dazed, she walked out of his building, attempted to flash a smile at the concerned doorman, and headed into the park.

Serena paused inside the gates and shook her head in an attempt to clear her frantic, unfocused thoughts. She knew her guard should be up, but she just couldn't seem to think of anything other than Darien. She looked up, took a step in the direction of the Temple, and froze.

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When Darien had finally succeeded in ushering the four girls out of his apartment, he closed the door as soon as possible to prevent anyone [Serena] from trying to get back inside. When he had awoken on the couch, he had still been reeling from the blow he had taken and the subsequent vision. It had taken every ounce of the not-insignificant amount of self-control that he possessed to stay calm. However, now that they were gone, he could finally let his emotions take over.

As he walked into the kitchen, Darien felt as though his consciousness was hovering a few feet above the rest of his body. He felt completely disconnected as he took his frustrations out on the granite island. With one furious sweep of his arm and a howl of rage, he sent a pile of mail and a bowl of fruit crashing to the floor. In a move which displayed his warrior's training, from both present day and millennia ago, he threw a punch at a cabinet, shattering the wood. He took out three more cabinets in the same manner before the fight drained out of him and he slumped to the floor, glumly surveying the damage to his precious kitchen.

His thoughts inevitably turned back to the vision he had had. Had it been real? To even entertain the fact would be a sign of weakness. Just as Darien had just _known_ that the visions he had had about his past life as Endymion were factual, he knew this vision, too, was accurate. But they had been through so much, in this lifetime and the last… How could this be true? _How?_ But he knew it was, nevertheless.

Just the thought of Serenity, _his_ Serenity, his soulmate, who he had always believed had been fated to him and no one else, willingly in another's arms – in _his_ arms… It was too much for Darien to take.

As his head began to pound again, Darien unsteadily got to his feet and stumbled into his bedroom, hoping that when he woke up this would all be a dream - a nightmare. He knew, even as he fell into a fitful sleep, that he would have no such luck.

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_"My lord, will you require anything else tonight?" asked Kunzite._

_Prince Endymion smirked at his highest ranking general and closest friend. "No, that will be all. But you may want to check with a certain Senshi…"_

_Kunzite blushed - actually blushed - which caused a chorus of laughter from Endymion, Jadeite, Zoisite, and Nephrite._

_"Don't act like you four will be spending the night alone, either," he grumbled and stalked out of the room._

_"I-I don't know what he's talking about," said Zoisite, hastily trying to cover up his own plans for the evening – and early morning if he had any say in the matter._

_"Well, then, you're really missing out," said Jadeite, clapping him on the shoulder._

_"Sleep well, my lord," said Nephrite with a smirk as he too exited the room._

_"Or not at all," grinned Jadeite, unabashed._

_"Good Lord, show some propriety, men," said Zoisite, rather embarrassed._

_Endymion just grinned at his friend, while Jadeite mocked sternly, "I'd like to see a lot of things tonight, but propriety is not one of them…"_

_Zoisite punched him lightly on the shoulder and gave Endymion a short bow, "G'night, my lord."_

_Endymion chuckled as they left his chamber. Things were always interesting when Serenity and her Senshi snuck down to the Earth Palace._

_Still grinning, he grabbed his cape and ran off into the moonlight, in search of his princess._

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_"Serenity, we need to talk," whispered Endymion._

_She raised her eyes, tears already starting to form, but said nothing._

_"God, Serenity, how could you do this to me? How? TELL ME!" he screamed as he grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard._

_"Endymion, please, you're hurting me!" gasped Serenity._

_Endymion stopped, and walked away a few paces, keeping his back to the princess, who stood rubbing her arms. She knew that he was waiting for her response, so she tried to explain._

_"I didn't mean for it to happen... Much like I didn't mean to fall in love with you."_

_At this, Endymion snorted in protest, but Serenity cut him off, "Please, hear me out. You're the one who wanted to hear it," she said, with a sad smile on her lips._

_"We met at a meeting of the Silver Alliance. He was guarding Princess Kakyuu. I saw him during the meeting, but we ran into each other in the gardens afterwards…"_

_"Sounds familiar," Endymion cut her off, his voice cold and his eyes like steel. "I've heard enough."_

_"Endymion, please…"_

_"No, Serenity, you've gone too far. You've betrayed me! Completely and utterly betrayed me! I loved you! And you throw it in my face!"_

_"Endymion…"_

"_No, this is your fault. You did this to yourself, Serenity. And you dragged me into it with you. Did you ever stop to think about what you were doing? About whom you were hurting? About all the trouble our kingdoms have gone through so that we could be together? Did you think about that?" He spun around, facing her now, eyes blazing, "Did you?"_

"_I – I…"_

"_Hah.. I didn't think so," he said quietly, bitterly, running a hand through his unruly midnight hair. "At the ball your mother is throwing us to celebrate our engagement, I'll make the announcement that the wedding is off. We're over, Serenity. It's finished."_

_With that, he turned on his heel and walked away from her, leaving her standing all alone in the garden, staring up at the Earth in the sky above her. A single tear slid down her cheek._

_xxxxxxxxxx_

_"Everyone, thank you for joining us tonight for this great celebration," Endymion began. As his words were met with applause, a bitter smile played on his lips. Once the people heard his next words, there would be no more applause. Except from a certain dark haired man…_

_"Before the festivities begin, I have an announcement to make. Princess Serenity and I have decided…"_

_Endymion's words died on his lips as a tremor shook the Grand Ballroom of the Moon Palace. Screams echoed through the gargantuan chamber as an explosion destroyed the East wall..._

_xxxxxxxxxx_

***BUZZZZZ* *BUZZZZZ***

Darien reached over to switch off his alarm clock, half annoyed, half relieved. He had slept fitfully, as more visions of the past became freed of whatever had been suppressing them.

Darien swung his legs over the side of the bed and cradled his head in his hands, his mind reeling from all that had been revealed to him, and all that he knew he had left to remember.

_Beryls' Generals were _my_ generals – my _friends_._

_Serenity was unfaithful – I was going to break our engagement._

_And something… Something about that final day on the moon… _But his mind ended up in a fog when he tried to remember the downfall of the Silver Millennium.

He growled, exasperated with his inability to remember that crucial night, and slammed his hands onto the side of the bed. Thanks to his healing abilities, Darien's body felt completely rejuvenated. He only wished the same were true with his muddled mind.

Why now? What made these memories start to come back now? Fair enough, he had taken quite a blow to the head last night, trying to protect Sailor Moon, but that was nothing compared to some of the things his poor body had endured rescuing his princess.

_But _is_ she your princess?_

Darien shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. When that failed, he decided to shower and go to the park. If he was going to just stand around and pace, he might as well do it there. Some of his best soul searching had been done in that park.

Soon, Darien was showered and dressed. As he went to get his usual cup of coffee, he was shocked to see the state of his kitchen. He cursed himself for losing his temper like that. This would take hundreds of dollars to fix. Quite frankly, it looked as though a tornado had gone through. But he would deal with that later. For now, he had more pressing matters to deal with – sorting out all of his new memories from millennia past.

Without a further glance at the wreckage that used to be his pristine kitchen, Darien was out the door, locking it behind him.

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After a few solid hours of pacing around his favorite, shady area of the park next to his apartment building, Darien was still shell-shocked from the memories that had been polluting his dreams.

He had tried to look at things logically. The first thing he had decided to do was to treat the memories as real. He had spent hours running his hands through his hair and trying to poke holes in the edges of his memories – like he had been able to do to the false memories Beryl had given him while he was brainwashed – but these appeared to be real.

Serenity had really cheated on him – had betrayed him. Even hours after the memory broke lose, this thought caused the floor to drop out of his universe.

But then, Serena was not Serenity. His Serena was much more free-spirited, much more adventurous, and much, much more independent than Endymion's Serenity. And although Serena had spent months alone with _him_ while thinking that Darien was simply ignoring her, Darien had never sensed anything through their link to suggest that she had ever been unfaithful. In fact, everything that he felt through their link to suggest the opposite – that she was his and only his.

_But you had no idea then, either…_

may be a reason why they were being revealed to him now, as a new enemy was attacking after a nearly year-long peace.

Third: There was definitely something going on between his [his? It was so foreign to think that the enemies he fought against and defeated when he first began to accept his identity as Tuxedo Mask were at one time his comrades] generals and the Princess Serenity's Senshi.

What had caused his memories to come lose in the first place?

Sensing that no other revelations were going to come to him that day, Darien turned in the direction of his apartment and started to walk home. As much as he wanted to retreat into himself like he had after losing his parents, he knew that he would eventually need to share this information with Serena and the Scouts – especially if these new memories were connected with the super-powered Youma that were becoming more and more frequent. However, he wasn't ready quite yet. He just didn't think he would be able to see her face without picturing Serenity with _him_, loving _him, _running away with _him._

And he knew that the Scouts would have questions about their relationships with Endymion's generals. He hadn't quite come to terms with that yet, and he didn't think he'd be able to explain to four boy-crazed girls that they had been betrayed by their soulmates thousands of years ago. Though he didn't _ever_ think he'd be ready for that… Hopefully, Luna would also regain her memories and take one for the team…

"Aaaarrrgghhh! Run!"

"Hey mister, get out of here, there's a monster coming!"

Darien snapped out of his thoughts as several people rushed by him, terrified.

"Dammit, why did Luna never give me a communicator?" Darien cursed, realizing that he'd have to re-open up the mental link he shared with Serena. At first, the link had bothered him – he didn't want anyone to know what he was feeling at any given moment. He wasn't comfortable with anyone being that close to him. However, as he had opened up to Serena and realized that she was, in fact, his soulmate, the link didn't bother him anymore. If anything, it brought them closer together. And he had to admit, it was damn useful in times such as this. Still, he wasn't sure that he could hide his thoughts well enough until he was ready to reveal his visions to her. Especially if she _had _been faithful in this millennia – then she was sure to be devastated by his doubts.

With a sigh, Darien opened up his link to his princess. As her emotions flowed through him, he felt ashamed. She was terrified, and not because she was already rushing toward the Youma. She thought he had been kidnapped by their faceless new enemy.

_But if she wasn't faithful to me, why should I even care? I trusted her completely._

He could sense his emotions slowly beginning to shut down. The walls he had kept up for years, that had slowly crumbled from Serena's constant sunshine presence, were rebuilding themselves at shocking speed as the doubt took hold.

But regardless of what was going on between him and Serena, he had a duty to fight the Youma. He reminded himself to concentrate on that duty – and not his crazed thoughts – as he ducked behind a tree to transform.

xxxxxxxxxx

Serena froze as she saw the huge Youma barreling down the path. It looked something like the Incredible Hulk, only was a ghastly yellow color.

The park was crowded today, and there were swarms of people running towards the exit she had just come through. Her only hope of transforming without being noticed was behind a grove of trees that lined the edge of the park. Whipping out her communicator to call the others, she ran towards the trees, hoping that everyone in the park would be too distracted by the youma to notice.

Once her transformation faded, Sailor Moon raced out from behind the trees. She was just about to strike a pose and tell the youma exactly what he had coming to him, when she saw Tuxedo Mask racing across the park toward her.

She was so startled that she couldn't focus on the youma. This was unfortunate, as it had turned around at that moment and began to stalk toward her. For how huge the brute was, he was also fast. With one fluid motion, his fist collided with the heroine's side and sent her flying into the wall of the park.

If not for the heightened powers of her Scout form, Serena might have been paralyzed. With them, she was merely annoyed. Sure, she would have some bruises in the morning, but more than anything she wanted this fight to be over with as soon as possible so that she could give Darien Shields a piece of her mind for causing her so much worry. Once she assessed whether or not he was brainwashed again, that was. Provided he was safe, she was livid.

She pulled herself out of the pile of brick and got shakily to her feet. She may not have been badly injured, but it had been a long time before she had dropped her concentration that much in a battle. It was something she couldn't afford to do with this new enemy.

"Hey, ugly! What's a brute like you doing in a beautiful place like this?" she called, taunting him.

Tuxedo Mask dropped into place at her side, and she glared at him, "I could say the same to you."

Instead of his usual witty retort and sideways smile, Tuxedo Mask simply looked at her with icy blue eyes. _Apparently what was bothering him last night is still an issue_… she thought, feeling the feeling the same strange sense of dread beginning to gather once more in the pit of her stomach.

"You should get rid of the Youma," he said, voice drained of all emotion.

"Yeah…" she said quietly. Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears again from all of the hurt, confusion, and panic she had felt during the last twelve hours. However, she did need to take care of this Youma before it tore up the park.

Sailor Moon lunged forward, halfheartedly yelling out, "Moon Spiral Heart Attack" and shot a beam of dull, pink energy toward the youma. It fell to its knees, but failed to turn into moondust. As Sailor Moon poured more and more energy into the attack, she felt her strength falter. With so many intense battles in such a short period of time, she hadn't had time to fully recharge, and whatever was up with Darien sure wasn't helping.

She Darien sigh – sadly? – behind her moments before his arms encircled her. Her feeling of unease began to escalate to panic when he did not hold her tightly has he usually did; rather, he made sure to keep distance between their bodies. His arms pressed against hers to conduct the flow of his golden energy, but that was it. His warmth was absent from her back, and he did not allow her to lean against him as he usually did.

Thankfully, the added energy soon turned the youma to dust. Serena felt dangerously light-headed from all of the energy she had used, and began to sway on her feet. Darien held her upper arms firmly to stead her, but made no move to come any closer than arm's length.

Once her head stopped spinning, she looked up at him, hurt plainly written on her features. He was regarding her with a deep sadness in his eyes, but as soon as her eyes met his, he masked his features and stepped away.

"Darien, what the hell is going on?"

She decided to try one last attempt to reach out through their link again and was not as surprised when she felt him drawing back and blocking her out yet again. However, this time, before he blocked her out, she was able to sense the turmoil in his mind, a deep sadness and – was it betrayal? But what could have possibly caused that? Surely he wasn't _this_ upset over her klutzing out last night?

Their eyes met, hers hurt, his alarmingly vacant yet surprisingly familiar. _He looks like the Darien I first met, all those years ago, who blocked out the world…_

A crown was beginning to gather in the park, applauding the two heroes and interrupting Serena's thoughts. Tuxedo Mask unexpectedly scooped Sailor Moon into his arms bridal style and took off across the rooftops before any onlookers could get too close to them. He could sense the hurt and confusion radiating off of her as he held her close, but he himself was still in too much pain to whisper away her fears. Still, even in the midst of his own pain he hated to see her like this. He had to say something…

"Sailor Moon, we need to talk," whispered Tuxedo Mask. _Smooth, real smooth, _he thought to himself. _You couldn't have made that worse if you tried._

She raised her eyes, tears already starting to form, but said nothing.

* * *

><p>Reviews are very much appreciated - especially if you have read the original version of this chapter! I realized that although Darien is quite fantastic, given his history, it was a bit too OOC for him to get over this one quite so quickly.<p>

Thank you again for reading!

Love, Elle


	3. CHAPTER TWO: Confessions

**CHAPTER TWO: Confessions**

Hello again! Thank you so much for continuing to read this story! Now that I am making these edits, I feel so much better about how everything is flowing. I had writer's block for the longest time, and I very much believe that it all stemmed with my unhappiness about Darien's reaction in these initial chapters. Although I knew where I wanted this fic to go, I just couldn't get words on a page without first fixing this so that the flow is more believable.

So, without further ado, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor do I profit from this story. Woe.

* * *

><p>Tuxedo Mask leapt deftly over the rooftops as the afternoon sun started to sink lower in the sky. Even though he was still clutching Sailor Moon tightly to his chest, he moved so rapidly that any onlookers would just see what looked like a shadow if they noticed anything at all.<p>

After a few minutes, the masked hero had landed on top of a warehouse by the docks and carefully set Sailor Moon on her feet. The salty breeze blowing across the bay pushed her golden hair into her downturned face, making it easy for it to look anywhere but at him.

He knew her mind was probably reeling, coming up with reasons as to why he was acting this way. The way he was acting wasn't fair to her, he knew…

_But do you know? Do you _really _know? If Serenity did, what makes you so sure that Serena hasn't? _

The doubt was driving him insane.

_But if she didn't cheat on you, this doubt is going to kill her. After all she's given me, this is how I repay her?_

And she had given him so much. What he had barely qualified as a life before she came into the picture. He was merely just getting by. She was a breath of fresh air.

He tried to hold onto that feeling like a lifeline as he began what was sure to be one of the worst conversations of his life.

"Hey," he said softly, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. Sailor Moon flinched; Tuxedo Mask cursed himself as she stared up at him with bright, wary eyes. He hated to see her in pain. Being the one to cause it was unbearable. But so was this goddamn doubt. Unable to meet her gaze, he swore aloud and walked a few paces away. He stood at the roof's edge and let his transformation fade.

After a moment, he sensed Sailor Moon's transformation fade as well. He looked down as he felt a warmth grip his hand. "Hey," she said. She wasn't looking at him. Rather, she was watching the cargo ships sailing out to see. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

"Not really," he laughed without humor.

Serena glared up at him, but her gaze softened as she took in his overly-rumpled hair and bloodshot eyes. "Well, you haven't been captured by the enemy this time, right?"

"I do seem to have that going for me."

"And no brain washing?"

"Give a guy some credit…"

Serena snorted and Darien tried to look offended, but just couldn't pull it off. In a blatant attempt to delay the inevitable, he turned to her and said, "I'm surprised your friends aren't hunting us down right now."

"What do you mean…? OH!" Serena began fumbling with her coat pocket and eventually freed her communicator. Sure enough, it was blinking angrily with messages from Rai and Ami.

"_Meatball head, why aren't you here yet? We're all waiting for you at the Shrine! Get your lazy butt over here right now!" _Serena couldn't help but feel guilty as she noticed a slight edge of panic in her friend's voice. She and Rai may argue constantly, but they were closer than sisters.

The next message was even worse. Ami was always so sweet and hard to disappoint. To think that she had caused the blue haired senshi unneeded worry was almost unbearable. "_Sailor Moon, we received word of a Youma attack at the Park. By the time we got there, you had already left with Tuxedo Mask.. or at least that's what the crowd seemed to be saying. Please let us know that you're both alright…"_

Before she had even time to call the girls, her communicator blinked again. Her guilt quickly subsided as she realized what she was in for.

"You know, you look more scared of that little piece of plastic than that Youma you just dusted," said Darien in a poor attempt at humor.

She could tell he was uncomfortable. He always told bad jokes when he was uncomfortable. But at least he was speaking.

The beeping communicator cut off her thoughts and she quickly answered it, but not before she saw Darien's shoulders slump as he looked back out to the water.

"Hi, Rai, how's it going?"

"_Don't you 'Hi, Rai' me, Meatball Head! Where are you? What's going on? Are you with Darien?"_

"Woah, woah, slow down. I'm fine, thanks for asking. The Youma's toast. I ran into Darien in the park, he helped me finish it off…"

"_And I guess you weren't even going to tell us? I've been running around the entire park, looking for you, and this is the thanks I get…"_

"_Oh, and I guess we did nothing…" _Serena heard Lita chime in in the background and Ami laughed. She was filled with guilt at how relieved they sounded.

Serena took advantage of Rai's distraction and cut off her rant. "Thanks for worrying about me, you know how much I love you girls. I'm with Darien now, out by the docks. He's not brainwashed or anything and was never captured, but we have some things to talk about so I'm gonna be offline for a bit. I'll let you know when we're done. And if ANY of you show up here, it's not gonna be pretty."

Serena snapped the communicator closed and turned in on silent. Sighing, she resumed her place next to Darien and shifted her gaze back to the bay.

Serena said nothing further to him, giving him time to pull his thoughts together. _She knows me too well…_ he sighed. _But either way, it seems as though I don't know her nearly as well as I thought._

As they both stood there, staring out to sea, Darien began to speak softly.

"Serena, I don't think we know all there is to know about our past. I know this is sudden and it's confusing as all hell. But bear with me," he said, his voice detached.

"Darien…? Trust me, everything will be alright as long as we're together," she whispered.

He chuckled darkly at that.

"What…?" She looked at him questioningly, hurt written clearly across her delicate features for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

He needed to get this over with.

"Last night, when that youma threw me across the park… when I hit my head, I saw… I saw the past. But not any part of the past that I'd ever seen before."

"Are you saying that you haven't regained all of your past memories? But the rest of us have remembered since we found the Silver Crystal…"

"No," he said severely, cutting her off. "I thought so, too. But it turns out, there's more to it than that. After that first… vision, I woke up in my apartment after you had carried me there. I was still affected by it. I'm sorry for the way I acted…" he drifted off stiffly.

"Don't worry about it," she said, reaching up and planting a quick kiss on his cheek. His monotone voice scared her more than any Youma ever could.

_God, I don't deserve her,_ he thought, even as he tried not to flinch away.

_But I definitely didn't deserve what Serenity did to me._

He took a deep breath, trying to push back the anger and _hurt_, and watched the ripples roll across the water.

"Anyway, after I… ah… saw you girls out, I collapsed in my bed. When I was asleep, I had more dreams of the past - except they weren't just _dreams. _They were real. I think there's a whole lot about the past that we don't know about. I don't know who or what is sending these visions now, or what finally allowed them to be revealed. All I know is that they're _real_. God, I wish they weren't," he laughed coldly again, "but I can feel it."

"Dare, what did you see?" she whispered.

He hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. Finally, he decided it was best to be completely open with her. Her reaction would tell him everything he needed to know. This was it. This could change everything.

Even as he thought this, his senses were manic at the thought of losing her. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had pulled her roughly to him and claimed her lips in a frantic, heated kiss.

At first she was startled and didn't respond, but after a moment she seemed to sense what he needed and ran her hands through his hair.

_I wonder if she was like this for him, too…_

At that thought, he abruptly pushed her away.

She yelped in shock and he felt a pang of guilt.

"What was that?!" she yelled, finally reaching her breaking point.

He didn't answer her.

"Darien Shields, what the hell was that? Answer me!" she yelled. She was standing in front of him now, hands balled into fists at here sides and tears streaming down her face.

"Maybe it would be best if I show you," he said quietly.

"What do you mean show me?! I'm getting sick and tired of this…"

Darien stopped listening and pulled her close. _Moment of truth_, he thought.

Calling upon his golden energy, Darien opened their link and replayed the visions he had had in his mind. Only this time, because of the link, Serena was seeing them also. Serena gasped at the memory of Endymion and the Dark Kingdom – _Endymion's?_ - Generals and shuddered at the incomplete vision from their last day on the Moon. He saved the memories of Serenity's betrayal for last.

_"No, Serenity, you've gone too far. You've betrayed me! Completely and utterly betrayed me! I loved you! And you throw it in my face!"_

_"Endymion…"_

"_No, this is your fault. You did this to yourself, Serenity..."_

Serena froze as the vision played out in her mind's eye. She had… betrayed Endymion? Never! They were soul mates – her heart was his and his alone! She would never! But what was this? _What was this?_

_Serenity wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her deeply._

"_I love you," she whispered, gazing into his bottomless eyes._

"_And I you," he replied with a smile._

_Endymion watched the couple from the shadows…_

"NO!" Serena struggled to free herself from Darien's arms, tears streaming down her face. "NOOOOO! It's not real! It can't be real! It can't..."

The repulsion that he felt through their link was all the answer he needed. He couldn't help but feel elated, even as Serena sobbed into his chest.

_Serena never betrayed me. _Deep down, he had always know, but _that goddamn doubt_ had just kept coming back. Because he knew that if she had betrayed him, it would ruin him.

_But she didn't. She is mine and only mine. _Somehow, that made him feel as though he could take on whatever enemy had the misfortune to cross his path.

Darien had noticed that Serena's tears had stopped and he looked down at her. What he saw put an end to his internal celebration.

She was looking up at him in pain and anger. Belatedly, he realized that he had never closed their link. At this close proximity, she could feel all of his emotions. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach at her expression, but it was no less than he deserved for doubting her.

"Wait, so you thought I cheated on you? THAT'S what all of this has been about?! The hell you put me through today was because – just because you had some… some _vision_ of Serenity cheating on you, that **I **must have done that also?"

She angrily pushed herself out of his arms and began pacing the rooftop.

"You do know that Serenity and I are two _entirely_ different people, don't you? I mean not entirely, but – well, you know exactly what I mean! And you just thought… you just thought…"

She broke off as she angrily wiped the tears from her face.

Darien took advantage of the opportunity to pull her into his arms again. She refused to relax in his embrace.

Sighing, he said, "I just thought that I could never survive seeing what Endymion saw."

At that, he felt her slump into him and bring her arms around his back. At her response, he hugged her tighter to him, like the lifeline she was.

She mumbled something into his chest, but he couldn't quite catch it.

"What was that?" he asked, stepping back a few inches so that he could hear what she was saying.

Instead, she used the space to shove him. Hard.

"Hey!" he yelled, thrown off balance at the unexpected force.

"I _said_ that if you ever pull something like this again, you. Are going. To. Be. Sorry."

With that, she spun on her heel and walked towards the other end of the rooftop, mumbling something that sounded like _stupid black haired princes being more trouble than they're worth_ and _bad enough when his future self decided to meddle, but this is worse by far._

"Serena?"

She didn't stop. Instead, she transformed into Sailor Moon and started to leap across the rooftops.

"Wait! Where are you going?!"

He transformed as he ran after her. She wasn't headed to her house - that much he was sure of. It almost looked as if she was heading for his apartment…

He watched her land, knees bent and one arm between her legs for balance. As she stood up, she looked over her shoulder and watched him catch up.

"I need a nap," she said, "and I sleep better when I'm with you."

She gave him a shaky smile, and he knew he was forgiven.

Her own smile brightened as he grinned at her, pulling her into his arms and carrying her to his balcony.

XXXXXXXXXX

Darien gently placed Serena in his bed, pulling the covers over her slight frame. Before he had placed her in the bed, he had gently removed her jacked and placed it on the chair in the living room. That was where he headed now, cursing Luna again for not giving him a little pink communicator of his very own.

Clumsily, he punched the buttons in an attempt to reach Rai. His fingers were too big for the tiny keypad, but he eventually got the fire senshi on the line.

"_Thank God, Meatball Head, we were getting worried… Hey, what do _you_ want?"_

Rai's tone was accusing, even through the tinny speakers.

"Chill, pyro. Serena fell asleep here. I need you to cover for her with Ken."

"_Oh, of course. What am I, your slave? Sure thing, I'll call Ken and tell him she's staying the night at your place. What are friend's for?"_

"Rai…" Darien knew she was bluffing, and he was in no mood. But still, the thought of Serena's father discovering that his only daughter was asleep in Darien's bed… Well, that was enough to make even the future King of Crystal Tokyo uneasy.

"_Fine, fine, I'll take care of it," _Rai replied breezily. But then she looked at Darien's expression through the communicator's tiny screen and her voice took on the authority of a senshi. _"Is there anything that we should know?"_

"Yeah, Rai, there's a lot that you need to know. But it's going to have to wait until Serena's ready to do at least some of the talking. Just be on your guard."

"_Understood. Should we take shifts keeping watch on your place?"_

"Thanks, Rai, but I don't think that's necessary just yet. We still don't know who this enemy is, and our identities haven't been compromised. I'll keep you updated if anything happens. G'night."

Before Rai could protest, she snapped the communicator shut and went to check on Serena.

She was just where he had left her, asleep on his bed, all blonde hair and moonlight. The soft glow made her look like a goddess, and he felt his breath catch. Even after all they had been through, in this life and the last, Darien was still sometimes taken by surprise by the fact that she was _his_. That anyone could love him, let alone this bubbly blonde with a heart of gold and steely determination.

After the car accident that had claimed his parents' lives, a young Darien had vowed to never let anyone close enough to hurt him ever again. He couldn't live through the loss of anyone else that he loved, so he would simply _refuse_ to love. Then Serena had thrown her failed math test at him and the rest was history.

He chuckled quietly, a smile playing at his lips as he remembered how the bubbly blonde had flattened his world like a steamroller. He hadn't stood a chance.

He glanced at Serena again, somehow unsurprised that she had found a way to take up every inch of his King sized bed, disheveling covers as she went. _At least she's sleeping peacefully,_ Darien thought as he stepped into his bathroom to take a long, hot shower. Maybe tomorrow, when they were both rested, he would call in a repair man for the kitchen…

Darien turned the faucet on and set the temperature for as hot as it would go. Gently, he pulled off his clothes, placed them into neatly sorted laundry bins, and stepped into the hot shower.

As the water rushed over him, Darien realized how stupid he had been. Had he really doubted Serena? After all they had been through? He had just been hurt and confused and lashed out, letting the fear of betrayal poison his thoughts. He would make this up to her if it was the last thing he did.

On his bed, Serena slowly opened her eyes.

"Dare?" she whispered groggily.

As she slowly lifted her heavy head, she could hear the sound of the shower running. A feeling of security washed over her and she quickly dozed back to sleep. _Hopefully this time,_ she thought, _the visions will stay away…_

Since she had fallen asleep, she had seen more and more visions of her past – visions that had mysteriously remained hidden until now. None were as dramatic as what Darien had revealed to her – in fact, a lot of them made her smile – but she was mentally drained, as well as physically exhausted from fighting youma after youma, and she could use a nice, uninterrupted, dreamless sleep.

She had no such luck.

XXXXXXXXXX

_"Shhh, Venus! You're supposed to be protecting me, not the other way around!" giggled Serenity as they moved quickly through the shadows of the Terran Palace._

_Venus giggled, but Mars was annoyed. They had to get back to the transport pad before anyone on the Moon noticed Serenity was missing._

_"Really, I don't get paid nearly enough to baby sit the two of you…"_

_"We don't get paid at all," pointed out Mercury, using her computer to scan the gardens._

"_Well, maybe it's about time," grumbled Mars._

_"Now, now, behave, children," laughed Jupiter. "Mars, we all just had a lovely evening with our men, and short of you remaining fully clothed the entire time, I don't know what your problem is"_

_Amy blushed, while Venus and Serenity erupted in even more giggles._

_"Quiet, you buffoons! We're going to get caught!" she said, looking around for the Terran Palace guards or any of the servants. Seeing no one, she relaxed and a radiant smile lit up her face. "For your information, Jade proposed!"_

_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Suddenly, Mars found herself surrounded by four squealing princesses. They couldn't be called warriors in their current state, not even Ami, but Rai couldn't have the heart to chastise them. She was too excited herself. But she wasn't about to throw her sense of duty to the wayside._

_"Shhh, calm down and get off of me!" She laughed. "I'll tell you the whole story when we're safely in Serenity's chambers!"_

_The others grudgingly agreed, and they hurried toward the transport pad with renewed vigor._

_"Wait! My locket! I forgot my locket!" cried Serenity suddenly._

_"The one that Endy just gave you?"_

_"Yesssss!" whined Serenity. "Stay here, I'll be right back!"_

_Without a second's hesitation, she flew off down a narrow, deserted servant's corridor._

_"…We definitely should start getting paid," agreed Jupiter, as she took off after her Princess._

_Serenity bounded down the corridor, taking yet another shortcut down the winding servant's corridors. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid. Racing out to the gardens, she quickly scooped her locket off of the bench and flew back into the servant's wing. She could hear the girls cursing her as they ran towards her, but she was sure they would be distracted with stories of Rai's engagement soon enough._

_Serenity gave a dazzling smile at the thought of Mars and Jadite together. The two were truly perfect for each other._

_Lost in her daydream, she didn't see the door open directly in front of her until it was too late. Cold, frighteningly strong hands pulled her inside and closed the door silently behind her._

_"Who are you? What is the meaning of this?" asked an affronted Serenity. Fear was beginning to prickle her senses, but she didn't want this woman to see that. Thus, she stood with her back straight it what she thought was a regal posture. She could the voices of her senshi outside as footsteps approached the corridor she had just run down._

_The woman must have seen her eyes flicker towards the door, for she gave a cold laugh. "Don't even think about it, you pitiful little princess. If you want them to live, keep your mouth shut."_

_Serenity took a step away from the woman, but did as she said. She made no sound until her senshi's footsteps had passed the doorway and they were well on their way back into the gardens._

_"So you're not as ignorant as you appear, little Moon Princess," crooned the woman. She stood in shadows, but Serenity could still make out a hideous purple dress that was low cut and left little to the imagination. She also saw the woman's flowing, firey red hair._

_"Who... Who are you?" asked Serenity, not able to completely hide the fear in her voice._

_"Who I am is not important, child. What I can do, is. Now listen to me, and listen carefully. I control a great, ancient power and can destroy everything you hold dear. Do I have your attention yet?"_

_Serenity felt numb. Her knees began to shake, but she couldn't give in to the fear threatening to overwhelm her. Instead, she nodded stiffly and waited for the woman to continue._

_"Good. Now," she smirked, "that I have your undivided attention, I want you to know that I am giving you the ability to save your dear, dear prince, as well as your pitiful mother."_

_Serenity's vision turned red at the woman's mention of her mother. No one talked about Queen Serenity in that manner! "How dare you? Just who do you think you are? My mother could take your sorry life with the snap of her fingers! How dare you speak of her in such an offensive manner!"_

_The woman shocked Serenity and gave a hearty laugh. "I suppose we will see, now won't we? You seem so keen to know who I am. Fine. My name is Beryl, and you will be bowing at my feet someday, you worthless princess. As for your prince, the only way you can possibly persuade me to save him from the great evil power descending on your world is to convince him that you do not love him."_

_"Wh.. What?"_

_"You heard me," the woman smiled cruelly. "I'm not sure how you got him under your spell in the first place, but to save his life, you must make him see that you don't love him. If you cannot convince him by the time that your engagement is announced, his life will end. I will see to it personally."_

_"What are you talking about? What engagement?" Serenity could hear the blood rushing to her ears. That was a private matter. No one but she, her mother, the Terran Royals, her senshi and Endymion's generals knew of their upcoming engagement. Who was this woman? If she knew about their engagement, could she… could she really be speaking the truth? That the only way Endymion's life would be spared is if he didn't love Serenity anymore?_

_"Don't trifle with me, princess!" Beryl said angrily, calling forward a ball of dark energy in her fist. "Mark my words, your kingdom and your prince will be destroyed if you do not make him denounce you. Tell no one that we spoke. I will know if you do, for I will be watching you carefully…"_

_"But why?" Serenity pleaded. "Why are you doing this?"_

_"Just do as I say, moon brat, and Endymion will be safe when this is all over."_

_With one last evil laugh, Beryl vanished in a blur of dark energy and crackling electricity._

_"Hello?" Serenity called out softly to an empty room._

_When nothing answered her, she bolted out the door and back towards the transportation pad that would take her back home. As she was rounding the corner, she collided with a warm body._

_"Ouch, Serenity, watch where you're going! Where have you been? You've had us all worried sick! Hey, you alright?"_

_Of all the senshi, Serenity would have run into Mars at a time like this. Not only did she have a firey temper, but she was also incredibly perceptive._

_"Hah, sure, sorry to worry you. I took a wrong turn in the creepy corridors and got spooked by my own shadow. Go figure I'm fine though, really! Let's get back home so we can hear all about your engagement!"_

_Serenity forced a sunny smile to her face and offered Mars her arm to help her up._

_"Don't you even try to change the subject! You're in big trouble! Just wait till Jupiter hears where you were… she's been tearing up the gardens for the past ten minutes looking for you!"_

_But Serenity could tell she had successfully distracted her closest friend. As she watched Rai closely, she could see the way her eyes constantly flickered to the diamond on her left hand._

_Soon, Serenity and her senshi were all at the transformation pad. With just a few clicks of Mercury's computer, they would all be safely home on the moon before anyone even realized they were missing._

_A slim woman with long, flowing hair and a long purple dress, the color of the aristocracy, watched as the Moon Princess looked over her shoulder uneasily._

XXXXXXXXXX

Darien stepped gingerly out of the shower and toweled himself dry. Slipping on a pair of fresh boxers and an old T-shirt, he went back to check on Serena. There she was, still lying across his bed, hair shining like golden silk in the moonlight. However, her face was troubled.

Suddenly, Serena began to thrash in her sleep and cry out. At once, Darien was at her side, holding her close, and calming her down.

"Shhh... Shhh… Sere, everything's fine. I'm right here. Wake up, you're just having a bad dream."

"Endy?" Serena's eyes opened, looking wildly around the room until she finally noticed him right next to her and threw her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder.

"Well, sort of," said Darien, more than slightly uncomfortable with the past, given the recent revelations he had had. "Now, what seems to be the problem, Princess?"

Serena attempted to speak while still smothering herself in his shoulder. He chuckled, the sound vibrating the bed and making Serena's heart skip a beat. Darien gently pulled her away ever so slightly and smiled down at her, "Why don't you try that again?"

Serena cracked a smile, exactly what she was going for, and sighed. She was still numb, but she was a lot better off than she had been after Darien had revealed his visions to her. The visions of her and _him_ in a heated lover's passion… if she thought about it again, she was going to be sick.

"Sere…?" Darien was still looking down at her, concern even more evident in his gaze.

She shook her head to clear her foggy thoughts, and then began. "Dare, it was Beryl," she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"It was all Beryl. She tricked me. She said everything would be alright if I betrayed you… She said our kingdoms would be safe. As long as I could convince you. That's why I ended up with _him_. To trick you. To save us all. But it didn't work like that… I was so stupid," She breathed, tears flowing out of her sapphire blue eyes. "So stupid!"

Angrily, Serena began to punch the pillow. Darien let have a few swings and then gently took her wrists in one large hand.

"Maybe… maybe it would be better if you showed me?" He said, looking directly into her eyes. "If you feel comfortable. I know it's a lot to take in, and I want you to have all the space you need. But I'm always here, and I'm always going to be here."

"Dare, you're too nice for your own good sometimes, you know that?" She laughed shakily and attempted to sit up. He helped her, and soon she was leaning up against his firm, warm chest.

"You sure you want to see this?"

"Nope. You sure you want to show me?"

She gave a small laugh. "No… Ready or not…"

She gripped his hand and her memories came flooding into his consciousness. He saw Berly pin her against the wall, say Serenity look around for help and realize no one was coming, saw his Princess believe the witch's bluff.

"_Mark my words, your kingdom and your prince will be destroyed if you do not make him denounce you. Tell no one that we spoke. I will know if you do, for I will be watching you carefully…"_

When it was over, they both lay there, breathing shallowly. Darien's hand snaked around Serena's waste and he brought her up to lay on top of him, wrapping his arms protectively around her.

"I knew it, Sere. I knew you wouldn't have betrayed me like that. But I was just… so hurt…"

"Shhh… Dare, you don't have to explain. It was thousands of years ago. It's my own fault for falling for her trap so easily. Plus, I know you were never comfortable with the fact that Seiya was here while you were… not." She finished lamely.

Darien growled, and all of a sudden she found herself flipped over onto her back with Darien on top of her.

"You're mine and only mine," he said huskily, his lips claiming hers. The kiss wasn't rough, but it wasn't quite gentle, and there was a sense of urgency about it. Serena was more than willing to comply, as she parted her lips and gave a soft moan as Darien's tongue slid tantalizingly against hers. Serena wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted. It could have been minutes, could have been hours. All that she knew was they were both breathless when they finally broke apart, and Serena could feel a fire running through her veins.

"Yours, hmm?" She said sweetly, nibbling at Darien's lower lip.

Darien moaned and his full weight on top of her, pinning her to the bed, before claiming her lips yet again.

"All mine," he confirmed.

"Then do whatever you want with me, my prince," She said in a low voice, reaching up with shaking hands to unbutton his shirt.

Darien's vision cleared as he saw the slight tremble in her hands. Quickly, he flipped himself off of her and scooped her into his arms again.

"Oh, no, you don't. Not until we're both ready. That's a promise." He planted a quick kiss on her forehead and smiled down at her.

"But Darien…" She tried to put up a tough front, but she knew that it was useless. He knew her too well.

Darien chuckled again and hugged her close. "What do you say we get some rest? It's been a long day," he said, kissing her gently again until she had no choice but to agree. It wasn't until Darien mentioned sleep that she realized how exhausted she truly was.

"Night, Dare. I love you."

"G'night, Princess, love you too," he said, already dozing off. In just a few moments, they had both drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

Serena slept dreamlessly, but Darien was once again plagued by his memories, or lack thereof, from that fateful last day on the moon.

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><p>THERE YOU HAVE IT! The last of the edits! This makes things more realistic, no? I would love to hear what you think!<p>

Reviews are **very** much appreciated!

Love, Elle


	4. CHAPTER THREE: Close, But No Milkshake

**REVELATIONS**

Summary: When Darien is knocked unconscious during a Youma attack, several repressed memories resurface. Will he and Serena's relationship be able to overcome this new revelation? And what story is complete without new enemies! FYI: Rated M.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER THREE: Close, But No Milkshake<strong>

**A/N:** *cautiously peaks out from behind a corner* Hi, everyone! I'm still alive! Apologies for the long break between updates – I assure you that I haven't given up on this story. This school year has just been crazy and, I admit, I got a little stuck with where I wanted everything to go. But, never fear – the next chapter is here!

Big thanks to those who reviewed Chapter Two:

devilsangels11287

BakerGirl07 - sorry I let you down with the timely updates =|

Jazzy

Phenitial

x-YingYing-x

Well, I've kept you waiting long enough, so here we go…

Disclaimer: I still don't own Sailor Moon or any other characters/places mentioned...

* * *

><p>"Night, Dare. I love you."<p>

"G'night, Princess, love you too," he said, already dozing off. In just a few moments, they had both drifted off to sleep in each others' arms.

Serena slept dreamlessly, but Darien was once again plagued by his memories, or lack thereof, from that fateful last day on the moon.

In his dreams, his vision of standing in the grand ballroom of the Moon Palace replayed itself over and over. He had been just about to break off his engagement with Serenity, but had been interrupted by Beryl's forces. Each time, he would awake in a cold sweat as soon as the chaos erupted. Each time, he would finally drift back into an uneasy sleep, only to have the vision replay itself again.

After the fifth or sixth time, Darien swore and went into his bathroom to retrieve some aspirin. His head was throbbing from the events of the past two days, and this lack of sleep wasn't doing anything to help. Glancing at the clock as he stalked back into his bedroom, he could see that it was just after four in the morning.

The clock gave off a soft, green glow, illuminating the room just enough for Darien to make out Serena's slight form, buried under the covers. He smiled softly at the sight of her, safely curled up in his bed where he could protect her from anything that could, and probably would, come their way. His smile faltered slightly when he realized that she had somehow managed to take over all of the covers.

With a groan, Dairen got back into bed and managed to free one of the sheets from Serena. Relieved that the pounding in his head had finally subsided, he attempted to catch at least a few hours of uninterrupted sleep before he had to face what was sure to be a trying day.

However, as soon as he drifted into unconsciousness, Darien felt the now all too familiar tug as he was pulled yet again into the vision. However, this time, something was different. The details of the ballroom were somehow clearer. The couples twirling around the dance floor seemed to be more in focus, and he could even feel the weight of the royal armor he was wearing.

He took in these now-familiar surroundings with a fresh eye. Then, all too soon, he began to speak and the events in the vision fell into place.

"_Everyone, thank you for joining us tonight for this great celebration," Endymion began. As his words were met with applause, a bitter smile played on his lips. Once the people heard his next words, there would be no more applause. Except from a certain dark haired man…_

_ "Before the festivities begin, I have an announcement to make. Princess Serenity and I have decided…"_

_ Endymion's words died on his lips as a tremor shook the Grand Ballroom of the Moon Palace. Screams echoed through the gargantuan chamber as an explosion destroyed the East wall. Chaos erupted as partygoers scrambled away from the destruction. Deadly bursts of dark energy coming through the massive hole in the wall hit several and they crumpled to the ground, unmoving._

'Why aren't I waking up?' thought Darien, as he continued to watch the chaos unfold around him. This was where he usually abruptly awoke from the dream or vision or whatever the hell it was. However, he continued to stand in the grand ballroom of the Moon Palace, watching Beryl's forces as if in a trance.

He was horrified at the destruction around him, yet oddly exhilarated that more of his past was finally being revealed to him. He could sense that this memory was crucial. But why, _why_, was it only being revealed to him now?

Suddenly, an ancient, yet not unfamiliar voice called his attention back to the events that were continuing to unfold around him.

_ "Serenity, Endymion," Endymion gasped as he turned to find Queen Serenity standing behind him, hugging Serenity tightly, and looking through him with wild, panicked eyes, taking in the chaos._

_ "Y-Yes, my Queen?"_

_ Endymion's voice seemed to draw Queen Serenity out of her trance. She blinked down at him, her eyes once again held the serene yet calculating gaze that he had come to know._

_ "Endymion, please take my daughter to safety and protect her with your life. I will find you when it is safe."_

_ Endymion nodded; the skills drilled into him during the long hours spend training with his generals instantly kicked in and he found himself calculating the best route to escape the ballroom, where to safely hide Serenity, and where he was most needed in the fight. He had known that it would only be a matter of time before the force that had overtaken his own planet sought out the Moon Kingdom. At a time like this, he wished he had his generals at his side. Sadly, they had been missing, presumed dead, ever since the final battle and the fall of Terran Palace – his home. However, Endymion's training kept these thoughts from entering his conscious mind. Grabbing Serenity by the wrist, he raced up the grand staircase._

_ "Endymion, please, slow down!" cried Serenity, tears streaming down her face. "What will become of my mother? Of all of our guests? Of my friends? Oh, Endymion, we have to do something!"_

_ Her words were lost on Endymion, who was concentrating on the sounds of battle coming towards them from the main entrance to the palace. Sensing that the battle was approaching from that side as well, he changed directions and charged out onto the terrace, Serenity in tow. _

He could sense that there was something that Serenity _needed_ to tell him, that he _needed_ to hear. But the vision was breaking up and he felt himself hurtling back towards reality. Trying desperately to cling to the vision, Darien was rewarded with several fragments.

He could here Serenity screaming her Prince's name. His name.

He could see glimpses of himself standing on a ruined balcony with Serenity in his arms.

He caught a glimpse of Beryl's red hair and the scent of fire.

He felt pain radiating across his back as one of Beryl's blows struck him.

He saw a terrifying image of Serenity, holding his sword, ready to strike.

And then he saw no more. Surrounded in inky darkness, Darien was neither awake nor asleep. Before he could figure out where exactly he was, he heard a familiar voice. The voice's origin eluded him, but it sounded like soft chime of bells in a spring breeze. _"The hour quickly approaches, Prince of Earth. You will regain your birthright. Be on guard. The hour quickly approaches."_

With a jolt, Darien sat up in bed, breathing heavily. It was times like this when he almost wished he had a normal life, with nothing to worry about but paying the bills. The voices of ancient entities in his head and scenes of his past deaths were getting to be a bit too much for him to handle.

Sighing heavily, he looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly 9. _Might as well start the day, _he thought. He wasn't surprised that it took more effort than usual to lift himself out of his bed. He gently untangled himself from the one sheet that Serena had not managed to claim, careful not to wake his sleeping Princess, and couldn't help but plant a soft kiss on her forehead. He chuckled softly as she smiled in her sleep at his touch and snuggled deeper into the pile of covers she had accumulated. She was his world and he couldn't bear the thought of life without her – just like he couldn't bear the thought of getting through the rest of the morning without coffee.

With a quiet sigh, Darien headed into the kitchen, carefully picking his way through the debris. It was Sunday. First thing tomorrow, he would call in someone to fix the mess he had created. Hopefully, that someone wouldn't ask too many questions.

Darien's mood improved considerably as he found that his coffee pot was intact. Soon, he was watching the lazy morning traffic from his balcony, steaming mug in hand. With the sun shining down on him, it seemed as though the visions that had plagued him all night were a thousand years away. With a bitter smile, he realized that they were.

As he sipped his coffee and attempted to prepare himself for the Scout meeting that would inevitably take place that day, he wondered if he and Serena would ever have a shot at a "normal" life. Before they inherited their destiny as rulers of Crystal Tokyo, he wanted to enjoy going through the motions of every-day life with her by his side. The sense of normalcy and peace that she brought into his life was something he had been missing ever since his parents were killed, and he'd be damned if this new enemy was going to take that away from him.

_Well,_ he thought grudgingly, _at least things are never boring._

Serena chose that moment to interrupt his reverie. He chuckled when he heard her swear softly as she stubbed her toe on the coffee table and watched her look around for him in confusion before finally spying him on the balcony. _No, definitely not boring. _

The smile that light up her face, and in turn his heart, made everything worth it.

"Hey," he said, an answering grin spreading across his face. It was Serena's favorite grin, she wasn't even sure he knew he was doing it, but it made her heart skip a beat – even after all of these years. Especially after all of these years.

"Hey yourself," she said, walking out onto the balcony to stand next to him. She took a few moments to enjoy the feel of the morning sun warming her skin, and then turned to face him again. This time, she had the authoritative air of Sailor Moon, and Darien knew that he wouldn't like what was coming.

"I just spoke with Rei and we're going to have to fill the Scouts in – the sooner, the better. They're dying to know what's going on, and they deserve to know," Serena paused and sighed, looking at the lazy Sunday morning traffic below them, not quite ready to meet Darien's gaze. "This concerns them now, too."

Darien looked down at Serena and noticed her far away gaze. He knew what she was thinking – that the Scouts had been romantically involved with Beryl's – no, _Endymion's_ – Generals. Rai had even been engaged to Jadeite, for God's sake! As Darien remembered the vision he had had of him and his generals, allies, confidants_, friends – _it still made him feel slightly off-balance to think of them that way – he wondered which general was paired with which of the Senshi. As horrid as the thought was, he was surprised to find himself morbidly curious. After all, now that they had seen the tip of the iceberg, knowing was better than not knowing.

Darien was surprised that, as soon as the question made its way into his conscious thoughts, snippets of memories came with it:

_Ami and Zoicite, smudged in ink and triumphant, after pouring over blueprints and figuring out how to fix the malfunctioning transport device so that Serenity and her Senshi could return to the Moon palace before their absence was noted. Ami blushed prettily as Zoicite got caught up in the moment, leaned her back, and kissed her in front of everyone._

_Lita and Nephrite trudging to the side of the arena after an intense afternoon of training. Nephrite looked as if he would propose on the spot as Lita led him to one of her famous picnic basket lunches hidden in the shade at the side of the arena. The only thing sweeter than the chilled lemonade was the fact that they never had to hold anything back, be it in the arena or in their love._

_Rai and Jadeite, tempers flaring, constantly challenging each other: she keeping him grounded, he lifting her out of the sometimes overwhelming sense of responsibility and bringing out a carefree side she hadn't known existed._

_Mina and Kunzite, leaders of the Serenity's Senshi and Endymion's Guard, eyes bright as they plotted out the best tactical logistics to protect their Prince and Princess while they went on a secret rendezvous into the beautiful coastal region South of the Terran Palace. Kunzite's deep laugh echoed throughout the chamber when Mina broke the serious nature of their technical discussion by absentmindedly wondering which gown would be best to wear if they had to hastily evacuate through the secret tunnel under the coastal estate. He only laughed harder upon seeing Mina's confusion at his outburst._

The sudden backfire of a car shook Darien out of his reverie. When he looked down at Serena, her knuckles were white as she gripped the balcony railing; as she let out the breath she had been holding and looked up at him, eyes bright with unshed tears, he realized that she had been seeing the same visions through their link.

Reaching down, he pulled her into a tight hug, gently rocking her and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Shhhh, it's going to be alright. We're going to get through this together," he soothed as she sniffled. He couldn't help but smile as he felt her give a quick nod and step back to brace herself for the day ahead.

Going up on her tiptoes, she placed a quick kiss on his lips. "Thank you," she breathed, with a small smile. Then, as the idea suddenly came to her, Serena grinned and began pulling Darien back into the living room. "If we leave soon enough, we'll have time to get a shake from Andrew before we head to the Temple!"

Darien didn't know whether to groan or smile.

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><p>Well, there you have it! I'm going to try to get the next update posted by the end of the week. After months of writers' block and an overwhelming amount of work in school [Who said senior year was the easiest? Lies.], I'm finally back!<p>

Thanks for your patience and continued support.

Love, love, love,

Elle


	5. CHAPTER FOUR: Scouts' Honor

**REVELATIONS**

Summary: When Darien is knocked unconscious during a Youma attack, several repressed memories resurface. Will he and Serena's relationship be able to overcome this new revelation? And what story is complete without new enemies! FYI: Rated M.

**CHAPTER FOUR: Scouts' Honor**

Hi everyone! As promised, here is a timely update! I know, I know – shocking! I was really on a roll after the last one, and this one is a little bit longer, with some really great memories built in!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Sad.

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><p>"Daaaaarien, I feel sick!" Serena pouted as she and her Prince slowly climbed the stairs to Rai's Temple. "I think you're just going to have to go ahead without me."<p>

"Not a chance, meatball head!" he looked at her and smirked, "I told you not to inhale your milkshake that fast!"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," she sniffed.

"That'd be a first…"

"Why you!" Serena stopped and glared at Darien. When he noted she wasn't still walking next to him, he turned around and couldn't help but laugh at her scowl.

Without a second thought, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. Sighing contently, she melted into him.

They stood there like that for several minutes, he with his arms tightly around her and resting his head on top of hers, she pressed against his chest with her arms just as tightly around him. The afternoon sunshine made her hair gleam brightly, and a fresh spring breeze ruffled her coral, knee length skirt.

"Not exactly the ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon, huh?" Darien said, gently pulling away. They both knew they were stalling. Serena didn't know how he always managed to seem like the responsible one – she had just been about to suggest they go inside. She snorted and, shaking her head slightly, stepped back as well.

"We're going to get through this together, remember?" She smiled up at him, repeating the encouragement Dairen had shared before the two had left his apartment what seemed like hours ago.

"Don't we always?" he countered, pulling her close again and planting a soft kiss on her lips. "Well, shall we, Princess?" he asked, offering her his arm.

Serena's giggle seemed slightly frantic, but she smiled nonetheless and took his arm. "I guess we don't have a choice. Lead the way!"

As they walked arm in arm toward the Temple's entrance, Serena regarded the man beside her out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to stand taller than he had when she had met him almost seven years earlier; he was more confident, and smiled more often – sometimes out of nowhere. That thought brought warmth to Serena, and she couldn't help but smile with him.

When she had first met Darien when she was fourteen and he was sixteen, he was a shell of his current self. Dark and mysterious, he was a loner who never let anyone get too close. Other than Andrew, who had always seemed more like Darien's brother than friend, Serena had never seen him spend time with anyone whom he wasn't forced to interact with. He used a cold and haughty demeanor to push people away, even though he would never hurt a fly – unless they were a part of the Negaverse. Now, while Darien still kept to himself, he was more approachable and was even branching out at university. To supplement his pre-med courses, Darien volunteered with several classmates at the local hospital, and had even gone out with them for a drink or two on more than one occasion.

Yes, Darien had really come a long way since he had learned of his past as the Prince of Earth and his future as the King of Crystal Tokyo – and the love of his Moon Princess. But sometimes, when she woke in the middle of the night, she got a strange feeling through the link that the two shared. There was still something missing from Darien's life; there was still something he was subconsciously searching for.

She hoped he would finally find it so that he could experience the same sense of completeness that she felt when she was surrounded by Darien, her family, and her friends – the same sense of completeness that he deserved. She vowed to do whatever she could to help him, but she didn't know where to begin or how to even approach the subject. _Not to mention the fact that we rarely have a free moment – between saving the world from whatever youma decides to come around next, keeping up with homework, and trying to have some semblance of a normal life_, she thought, slightly bitter. _I just want him to be as happy as I am._

_Not like this meeting is going to help any…_

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, are you two about ready to tell us what the hell is going on?" fumed Rai, who was pacing in front of the Great Fire. As she turned to glare at Serena, the Moon Princess the confusion and overwhelming worry in her more-than-slightly panicked eyes.

Serena, Darien, Mina, Lita, and Ami were seated around the table, tea slowly growing cold in their cups. At first, they had just been happy to see their Prince and Princess a unified team once again after the events of Friday night, but the longer Serena sat there and shifted uncomfortably, the more it seemed like the problems they would have to face were worse than they had feared.

"Come on, meatball head! Just tell us!"

"Rai…" Mina said in a slightly warning, tired voice.

"No, she's right. We have a lot to talk about, and stalling isn't doing anyone any good..." Serena trailed off.

"Well? What is it then?" snapped Rai, the edge of panic now even more evident in her voice.

"Yes, please tell us," Ami chimed in, trying to maintain her composure and act as the voice of reason. "The sooner we know, the sooner we can figure out a solution."

"Ami's right, Sere," said Lita in a comforting tone, although it was clear she was anxious to hear what her friend had to say as well. "We handle it, whatever it is."

Luna, Mina, and Artemis were uncharacteristically quiet. When Serena turned to look at Mina, the blonde said nothing, but offered her nod and a smile. Seeing that Mina had assumed her role as leader of the Senshi and not bubbly-best-friend was what finally gave Serena her cue to begin.

"Okay, here goes nothing," sighed Serena, taking a deep breath. Darien gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and she could feel the love and support radiating from him – such a drastic change from Friday night. She had been shocked that Darien had been able to recover so quickly from the images that he saw – if anything it seemed to pull him closer to her, although she sensed this was just the calm before the storm. After all, they hadn't regained their full memories – what else would be revealed before this was all over?

Rai cleared her throat impatiently, bringing Serena back to the present.

Although Darien was there for her, Serena knew that, given the nature of the news she was about to deliver, her friends would rather hear the majority of the story from her. Besides, Darien couldn't really tell a good story to save his life…

"Well, I guess we should start from the beginning… I take it you all remember what happened on Friday night after Darien was injured…"

At this point, Serena paused to compose herself – she still felt extremely guilty that she was the reason Darien had been hurt yet again. Darien, sensing this through their link, hooked his arm around her waist and took over for her.

"Serves me right for being so slow – I'm turning into an old man!" The Scouts traded worried glances and chuckled nervously before he continued, "The fact of the matter is, when I was knocked unconscious, some hidden visions of the past also became lose. It turns out that we don't have our full memories, not even close."

The silence in the room was deafening. Six mouths dropped open as the four Senshi and their advisors stared at Darien and Serena.

"Um, surprise?" said Serena with a nervous laugh. That seemed to break the tension, as the four Senshi began to demand answers at once.

"Impossible!"

"What do you mean we don't remember everything?"

"How the hell long were you going to wait before telling us this?"

"What did you see?"

Ami's question, spoken quietly but distinctly, brought a second round of silence to the room.

"What did you see?" Ami asked again, this time looking straight at her Princess. Serena held her gaze as long as she could, but eventually looked down at her lap.

Seeing this, the girls braced themselves. Serena began.

"We don't know everything yet – things are still coming back to us slowly. The only thing we know for certain so far is that our memories are incomplete, and there is something about the final day on the Moon that is being hidden from us."

"But who is sending these memories?" asked Luna, who had composed herself and was starting to process this new information. "I certainly thought we had regained our memories after you regained control of the Imperial Silver Crystal. It doesn't seem as if there are any holes in my memories. Could this be a trick?"

At this, the girls nodded.

"That was one of the first things I've thought about, Luna, but it's not the case. Once the memories started coming, the triggered others – I knew that what I saw was a true account of our past life. The visions really happened. Before, I hadn't thought there was anything missing either, but I know for certain there is now," Darien replied.

Knowing Darien, Luna accepted that he had put a lot of time into examining the visions from all angles. She nodded and accepted his answer.

Serena began again, "What we know so far is this…"

Serena slowly went through the events of the last two days, giving the Scouts as much detail as possible. Darien interjected at some points to add his side of the story, but for the most part just sat with his arm around Serena's waist, offering his silent support.

To their credit, the Scouts listened intently to the briefing and refrained from further interruptions for the most part. Finally, Serena had told them all but Darien's vision of the generals – it was the part of the events that she was least looking forward to recounting, and she knew the Scouts' reactions would not be pleasant. By offering this information last, the Scouts would be free to leave the Temple to deal with it in whatever way they wished – Serena couldn't fathom what their reactions would be.

Darien, sensing Serena's hesitation, offered a suggestion. "Maybe it would be best to show them?"

Serena, who had not considered it, turned to him with bright eyes, "Can we do that?"

"It's worth a shot," he shrugged. "After all, it worked for us. And if we can do it, and Luna did it with each of you to awaken you as Senshi, it shouldn't be that much different."

"Show us what?" questioned Rai, for once not pushy. She had been able to pick up on the strong negative emotions coming from the couple, and was genuinely not looking forward to whatever it was that was coming – but all the same, she'd rather get it over with.

"The final vision that Darien saw," Serena sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Okay everyone, join hands and focus your energy on Darien – kind of like when we have to teleport. He's going to send the vision to all of you."

"You really threw me under the bus with that one, didn't you?" he grumbled as the Senshi repositioned themselves so that they were sitting in a circle. Serena said nothing but squeezed his hand.

"Alright, I'm ready when you are…" said Darien, resignedly.

"Let's get this over with – come on, guys, focus your energy on Darien," said Mina, taking charge.

As each of the Senshi began to glow softly, Darien could feel the power flowing to him through the circle. With a deep breath, he focused on replaying the difficult memories of his interaction with the Generals – he still couldn't think of them as _his_ Generals – and, more importantly, the fragmented memories that he had of the Senshi and Generals together: _Ami and Zoicite, Lita and Nephrite, Rai and Jadeite, Mina and Kunzite._

As the Senshi experienced the memories, he felt the energy that was being focused on him violently jerk away. When he opened his eyes, he was just in time to see the door swinging shut as Ami fled outside, probably heading to the pond.

The room looked strangely mimetic of a war-zone. Rai was kneeling in front of the fire, chanting so quickly that he couldn't make out the words; the flames were blazing so high that they were almost licking the ceiling. Lita was pacing back and forth and, unable to take it anymore, had followed Ami outside, slamming the door so hard the frame broke. Mina was still kneeling where she had been, eyes glassy and unfocused, clenching and unclenching her fists next to her. Artemis nuzzled her side as Serena hurried to her side.

Feeling claustrophobic and more than a little out of place, Darien slowly rose and headed outside in the opposite direction of Ami and Lita. He wasn't sure if he was weak from the energy he had expended or from the memories he had been forced to live through yet again. The only thing that he was certain of was that things were likely to get worse before they got any better.

_What else is heading our way?_

XXXXXXXXXX

Ami flung herself down on the warm grass next to the pond.

What was that? _What was that?_

There was no way those visions could be real – no way that she could ever have been associated with – _loved – _that evil being who had tried so hard to kill her… her friends… her Princess!

_But he wasn't evil then_, said the sudden whisper at the back of her mind.

"No! No, I won't believe it!"

She shook her head violently to chase the though away and ran her hands through her hair, trying to get rid of the haunting memory. Even as she did this, new memories began to break through.

_It was her first trip to Earth, accompanying Princess Serenity. At fourteen years old, she had just been awakened as a Senshi and hadn't fully grown into her powers yet. In fact, the shy but brilliant blunette was still adjusting to life away from the blue marbled Mercury Palace where she had grown up. This was the first time she and the other Senshi had left the Moon Palace since they had arrived more than a month ago; it was the longest she had ever been away from her home._

_The Princess and her mother, Queen Serenity, were having a private lunch with the Terran monarchs. This meant that she and the other Senshi had the afternoon free – one of the few free moments she had experienced since accepting the henshin wand that was her destiny._

_Quickly and quietly, she grabbed a book from her chambers and headed out into the gardens of the Terran Palace. She only had a few chapters to go, and if she hurried, she may even be able to finish it before she had to prepare for dinner. _

_After a few minutes of searching for the perfect spot, Ami came across a beautiful lake. Smiling at her good fortune, she sat down beside a shady tree, her light blue dress carefully folded around her, and lost herself in her book._

_When she had finished the final chapter, she closed the book softly and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. With the fresh breeze ruffling her hair and the silence of the gardens, she couldn't help but feel optimistic – and more at home than she had felt since leaving her home planet._

_With a small smile still on her face, she turned to the lake and vowed to practice the training that she had received during her last lesson on the Moon. Her lesson had involved lifting water and channeling it to hit a target. No matter what she did, she would always hit below the target. Maybe now, with no one watching, she could make some progress._

_Determined, she placed her book neatly beside the tree and stood, dusting off her dress. She selected a notch in a tree on the bank of the lake to her right to serve as a target and moved to the water's edge. Concentrating her energy, she began to focus on the water in front of her. It began go glow with a soft blue light, and as Ami channeled more of the energy she felt growing in her chest, a thick ribbon of water began to rise from the lake. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the water into a spiral and was about to execute the proper maneuver to send the water smashing into the tree when she heard a stick crack to her left._

_Ami gasped and whipped around to search for the source of the noise. The possibility of danger set her sense on high alert. The water she had been using moments ago was forgotten; it stopped glowing and splashed noisily back into the lake._

_Eyes flashing, Ami scanned the trees, only to find a young boy standing there. He appeared to be about a year or two older than her, and had wavy, shoulder length hair that wasn't quite blonde or brown. He wore his hair tied at the base of his neck, and he was dressed in the blue-gray training gear of the Terran Army. All in all, he appeared to be almost as startled as she was._

"_Excuse me, miss, I mean no harm," he said quietly. Before he bowed his head, Ami saw that his face was red. Surely she had embarrassed him with her reaction._

_Blushing, Ami also lowered her gaze and spoke to a spot to the left of the young man's feet. "I'm sorry… You startled me."_

"_Well, that makes two of us," he said, smiling at her. "My name is Zoicite. I'm part of the Shitennou, Prince Endymion's Guard. Would it be right to assume that you are one of Princess Serenity's Senshi?"_

_Ami blushed again. There was something about his smile… "Yes," she nodded, "My name is Ami, er… Sailor Mercury." She blushed again as she stumbled over her words. What was it about this boy? She had always laughed at her fellow Senshi for fawning over the boys at the Moon Palace, but now it seemed as if she were no better. Hopefully he would leave soon…_

_Instead, he walked forward, raised her hand, and kissed it. "What a beautiful name."_

_Ami didn't think her blush would ever fade. She didn't know what to do; she just stared at the ground until she heard Zoicite silently curse under his breath._

_When he seemed to remember she was there, it was his turn to blush again. "Sorry, I'm going about this all wrong. Serves me right for listening to Jadeite…"_

"_What do you mean?" Ami couldn't help but be intrigued._

_Zoicite looked away and mumbled something under his breath that sounded slightly explicit. The only words Ami really caught were, "talking to girls" and "payback." She couldn't help but laugh._

_Zoicite stopped his rant at the sound of her laughter, which sounded to him like soft chimes on the breeze. He had to pull himself together. He had already startled her, embarrassed her, and now she was probably thinking he had a few loose screws. When all seemed lost, he noticed a book beside the tree she had been sitting under. Curious, he picked it up and was shocked to find it was the same one he had just finished reading._

"_Is this yours?" he asked, holding out the book._

"_Yes," she said, reaching out to take the book from him and clutching it to her chest like a lifeline. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid it's getting late. I have to get back… goodbye!" Turning on her heel, she walked swiftly toward the palace. Zoicite was more intrigued than ever. He ran to catch up with her._

"_Are you headed back for dinner?"_

_Ami cursed mentally. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone? _

"_I am," she said, not quite slowing her pace. Unfortunately for her, he matched it easily._

"_Allow me to accompany you, Lady Mercury."_

_Ami said nothing, and they walked on in silence. Just when she didn't think she could bear it any longer, Zoicie spoke._

"_So, what did you think?"_

"_Excuse me?"_

_He blushed again. "Of this," he said, reaching over and nimbly plucking the book from her grasp. He flipped through a few pages and continued, "I saw that you finished it, and I actually just read it myself last week. So, what did you think?"_

_Of anything Ami had been expecting, it wasn't this: she was used to being teased for her love of reading, but it had mercifully stopped since she moved to the Moon and began her Senshi training. _

_She actually stopped and spun towards Zoicite, temper flaring. "Are you trying to be funny?"_

"_No?" asked Zoicite, startled. Ami had seemed so quiet and meek – where was this coming from?_

"_Just who do you think you are, Mr. Shitennou? What I like to do in my free time is of no concern to you!" With that, she turned on her heel and began walking down an adjacent path leading in the opposite direction of the palace._

"_Hey, wait! You're going the wrong way!" Zoicite was startled, but he ran after her anyway. Clearly, he had hit a nerve, and upsetting this girl was the last thing he wanted to do. For the second time that afternoon, he found himself chasing the blunette._

_When he caught up to her, she wouldn't look at him, and he could see unshed tears in her eyes. He stepped in front of her and grasped her arms to get her to stop and look at him._

"_Hey, I really didn't mean anything! I don't know what kind of boy you think I am r what I'm trying to do, but I really did just finish it last week and no one around here likes to read so I got excited. I'm sorry if I startled you again."_

_Ami looked at him with narrowed eyes, but he was pleased to see that she no longer looked on the verge of tears. Instead, she just looked suspicious. That, he could work with._

"_Really, I'm not lying to you. I just wanted to know what you thought about it – especially the plot twist at the end. I didn't see it coming at all!"_

"_Well then you must be even dumber than you look."_

_Ami clamped her hands over her mouth and stared at him in horror; Zoicite stared back in shock._

"_I'm so, so sorry! I don't know where that came from, I…" Her apology was broken off by the sound of Zoicites laughter. Ami didn't know what else to do but join him._

_When they finally stopped, the two walked back toward the Terran Palace, first discussing the book, then their training, and then the homes they had left behind in order to serve their Prince and Princess. When they arrived at the Terran Palace, Ami was smiling from describing the Mercurian Palace to her new friend. She was happier than she had been since leaving her home._

_A fact which was not lost on the other Senshi, who chose that moment to walk down the hall towards their chambers, purchases from the market in hand. _

"_Who's your friend, Ami?" gushed Mina. The others were all staring at Zoicite with interest, clearly impressed by his good looks. _But there's so much more to him than that! _Ami caught herself thinking._

"_My name is Zoicite. I am a member of Prince Endymion's Guard, and am honored to meet the legendary Sailor Senshi," he said, bowing. _

"_Likewise," giggled Mina._

"_Unfortunately, I must be going. There are preparations for tonight's festivities that I must oversee. It was a pleasure, ladies. Lady Mercury," he said, picking up her hand again, "until we meet again."_

_Even though Ami knew what was going to happen, she couldn't help but blush – but this time she also glared at him. Surely he knew that the Senshi would question her for hours about this? _

_His smirk confirmed that he did. _

Zoicite,_ thought Ami, electricity flowing through her as she said his name in her mind, _ you're going to pay for that next time!

_Next time couldn't come soon enough._

XXXXXXXXXX

When the memory was over, Ami still kneeled by the side of the pond. She splashed water on her face in an attempt to get herself under control, but it did little good for her conflicting emotions.

Suddenly, the pond looked too familiar to the lake in her memory. Even though she felt completely drained, she had to get away.

Slowly, she made her way back to the Temple. She wasn't sure where the others were or in what state they were in, but she wasn't sure what else to do. As she got closer, she noticed Lita sitting on her favorite bench, tears silently running down her face.

As she heard Ami approaching, she wiped her eyes and offered her friend a sad smile. Ami sat down on the bench next to her.

"I'm starting to remember, Ames. I don't know what to do," she said.

"I don't think there's anything we _can _do…"

"Well, if you can't think of it, then we must be in trouble."

Ami tried to smile, but wasn't quite sure if she pulled it off.

The two friends sat in silence for awhile. Then, as Ami was just starting to think about going home for the evening, Lita spoke.

"He taught me how to make his mother's chocolate cupcakes."

Ami turned to look at her friend and saw that tears were streaming down her face again.

"He came into the kitchen of the Earth Palace after training. I was making cupcakes. He told me I was doing it wrong. I… I…"

"Shhh, everything is going to be okay," said Ami, reaching over to hug her friend.

"I remember loving him, Ames," Lita whispered. Ami froze. "I loved him so much… And now it feels so wrong… I don't know… I just… God, I just don't know."

Lita buried her head in her hands and started to sob. Ami just hugged her; she didn't even notice her own tears falling as she tried to compare the Zoicite from her memories to the Dark General who had battled against them.

The sun faded from the sky.

_How much more can we take?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So, what do you all think?

Ami and Zoi have always been my favorite couple, after Serena and Darien. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did.

Don't worry – things will eventually start looking up! The big question is if/when the guys are going to make an appearance. Stay tuned to find out!

Again, thank you so much for reading! When I see how much traffic this story is getting, it's really phenomenal! If you've made it this far, **please, please, please review!** I can't even begin to tell you how much it means!

Until next time,

Elle


	6. CHAPTER FIVE: Throwback

**CHAPTER FIVE: Throwback**

Shuffles in, eyes downcast. Well, hello there everyone. I'm embarrassed by how long I have neglected this story. It's funny how life always seems to get in the way. Without further ado/excuse, here is the next chapter! I hope it was worth the wait!

EDIT: I made some last-minute edits, because after re-reading the last part, I don't think I fully captured what I wanted to with how the girls were feeling. Hope you find this version a bit more complete!

Disclaimer: I know it's been awhile, but I STILL do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

><p>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

Darien sat on the steps of the Temple, watching the pedestrians meander by on the sidewalk below. The sounds of laughter and traffic seemed oddly out of place from the scene he had just left.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his dark hair. He wasn't sure how he had expected this meeting to go; what he did know was that he had never seen the Senshi look so… _fragile_. After seeing the five warriors so fearlessly look death in the eye time and time again with a saucy salute and pose, it was unsettling to see them like this.

However, he was truly out of his element here. The only thing he could think to do to help the situation was to put on a strong pot of coffee – but he didn't think that would particularly help matters. So, he had left Serena to have at it and retreated. _No, not retreat – strategically withdrawn, _he thought.

Unbidden, yet another memory rose in his mind of a training session from millennia past in which Jadeite had used this same phrase on Kunzite to justify running out of the arena like his life depended on it. It probably had, considering this particular session had been right after a particularly heated argument between Kunzite and Mina…

Darien was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't register the soft footsteps approaching from behind him. Thus, he jumped slightly when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Serena, looking a bit worse for the wear. Her eyes were a bit too bright and her shirt was crumpled, but he nonetheless noticed the determined glint in her eye.

"How did it go?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Well, I managed to talk Rai down before the fire department had to be called. So all in all, better than I expected," she replied with a humorless smirk.

Darien stood up and pulled her close, giving her a quick, tight embrace. She sighed and leaned into him tiredly, resting her head on his chest for just a moment before stepping away.

"They're going to be alright, I think. Maybe not the same, but alright. They're tough – made of stronger stuff than most. It's just going to take same time," she said, biting her lip. "I just wish I could take this away from them. Help them not suffer. They deserve to be happy."

"You did the right thing, Sere," Darian said, taking her hand in his. "They have a right to know."

Sighing, she swung their linked fingers between them as she turned to walk down the steps. "I know. We had to tell them. It's just… How would you feel? Knowing that you once had a soul mate, and now he's gone and no one will ever be able to compare? That you'll either be alone forever, or you'll be settling? It's not fair to them, or to whoever they give their hearts to, if anyone… because they'll never be able to give their _full_ hearts…"

"'He,' hmm? Mostly, I'd have some explaining to do if my soul mate were a man… So would you, for that matter. Although I'm curious, how exactly would that work with your uniform?"

"Shut up, jerk" she said, lips curving up in a reluctant smile.

He gave her a quick kiss and they walked on in silence until they parted near the park entrance, Darien walking right to get to his apartment, and Serena turning left to get back to her parents for Sunday Dinner and to catch up on the readings and assignments that had been slowly but surely piling up. And she thought Miss Haruna was bad… she had nothing on the university workload! It was times like this when she wondered _why_ they had to pretend to lead normal lives until the rise of Crystal Tokyo. Was it _really_ that important that she study sociology? _I'm only going to be ruling over an entire planet_, she thought tiredly.

When Serena got to her house, she slipped quietly through the front door and paused to slip off her shoes and greet her parents before trudging slowly up the stairs to drop her bag in her room and freshen up. As she closed the door with a sigh, Luna lithely jumped through the open window.

Serena mentally groaned – was it too much to ask to just have a few minutes of peace? However, one look at the cat's tired eyes had her feeling guilty.

"Long day, huh?" Serena asked.

Luna very uncharacteristically rolled her eyes at her young charge, and Serena wondered if her world was being _completely_ turned upside down.

"The girls are all resting. They just need some time to themselves, and I for one couldn't agree more. This is a lot to take in, but I must say I'm very proud at the way you handled yourself these past few days," she said, the pride evident in her voice.

Serena just blinked at her. Seriously, this entire week was turning into an out-of-body experience.

"Oh now don't look at me like that! You behaved quite like Queen Serenity, and I'm sure she would be very proud of you."

At that, Serena gave her a tired smile. "Thanks, Luna. I just hope I can keep it up and be there for everyone. I'm scared this is out of my league."

"If anyone can see them through this, it's you Serena," the cat said with a yawn. She curled up at the foot of Serena's bed and closed her eyes for a long over-due nap. "But they're stronger than even they know. I have no doubt that they will rise to the occasion."

Serena nodded, but couldn't help but wonder if their ability to rise to the occasion extended to the matter of finding happiness.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Some Goddess of Love I am," sighed Mina softly as she locked her apartment door behind her. Suddenly, the luxurious apartment felt empty. So did she.

Artemis simply nuzzled her from his trademark place on her shoulders.

She knew what she would do. She would light a candle. That would make it look more like home in this joke of an apartment. That she got when her joke of a father moved back to London. And her joke of a mother couldn't bear to leave his side. Not even to stay with her joke of a daughter. And now she was destined to live alone is forever because she had lost her other half at the hands of a dark queen thousands of years ago. What a joke of a Senshi she was.

"I mean I didn't even recognize that my own soul mate had been brainwashed! Pathetic! Aphrodite would be ashamed!"

She hadn't even realized she was speaking out loud.

She was in the kitchen now, banging open cabinets, looking for matches.

"And don't even get me started on the Leader of the Senshi! Sailor Venus, feared across the universe for her power and skill! HAH! Couldn't save her Princess, couldn't save herself, COULDN'T SAVE ANYONE!"

She pulled a drawer open with such force that it came off of the track. The silverware clanged loudly to the floor, startling her into silence. She looked around at the mess she had made and slumped to the floor against the cabinet, finally allowing the tears to come.

"I couldn't save him," she whispered. "I couldn't save him."

She sat there until morning, weeping silently, Artemis by her side. She wasn't aware of the time passing; wasn't aware of the gray morning light that began to peak through the window, a harsh glint on the silverware that still lay scattered across the floor.

When she heard her alarm blaring from the next room, she calmly rose, paying no heed to her aching joints; the soreness didn't even register. Artemis watched as she stoically crossed the apartment to her bedroom, switching off the alarm. He hadn't missed the steely glint in her eyes or the determined set to her tear-stained face. He had most certainly not missed how his young charge didn't look quite so young at all on this side of the dawn.

XXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't a surprise to any of them that Venus called a Scout Meeting for Monday night. And it was truly Venus that called the meeting: the quiet authority in her voice had cast away any doubts. While none of them knew what was causing the current situation, they knew that they were on the cusp of something new - something monumental – and the only chance they stood was to stay one step ahead of the game. That was easier said than done when they were currently at least three steps behind.

"So let's begin with everything we know about this new enemy and work from there. I'm talking about every minute detail. We're going into this blind, so anything that helps us to figure out a pattern is critical, no matter how insignificant it may seem on its own," said Mina. They were all gathered at the Temple, trying not to think about what had happened when the had been gathered in the same room just yesterday.

Serena looked around at the tired girls who had the weight of the world on their shoulders. They all looked a bit worse for the wear: their eyes were dull and the usual banter that always accompanied Scout Meetings was notably absent on this evening. True, all any of them wanted was to take a day off to deal with the news of the Generals, but they just couldn't afford that right now.

She released a breath she didn't know she had been holding and leaned against Darien's firm chest. As she did so, she couldn't help but feel guilty. Here she was, with _her_ soulmate, knowing that none of her Senshi could ever be so luck again…

_Don't go down that path, Sere. I know it's hard, but you have to know that they always want you to be happy. _

She sighed. _I know, but it's just so unfair. I want them to be happy, too… After everything, no one deserves it more._

He squeezed her hand as Ami began to speak.

"My scans haven't turned up a single weak point in any of them yet," said Mercury, with equal parts worry and frustration. "That's why it's been taking so much energy to get rid of them. With the older Yumas, I've always been able to identify a sweet spot, but with these it's a simple energy ratio. We have to put in more than they have. And they're strong. Too strong. That's why it's been taking so much out of us, especially you, Serena."

Serena nodded. "And they only seem to be getting stronger."

"Right," said Mina. "What else?"

"They turned up a few weeks ago, right? But nothing new has been going on around here," said Lita with a slightly puzzled look. "Before, the Negaverse would usually put up a front as a new store opening to draw people in and drain them, but that doesn't seem to be an issue here. I mean, I don't even think they're looking for energy at all!"

"No, they don't seem to be, do they?" Darien said, frustrated. "I wonder what they're after if it's not energy…"

"None of my scans have picked up any collected energy. As far as I can tell, they're just here to terrorize. There has to be something we're missing!" exclaimed Ami, exasperated.

Rai, who had been uncharacteristically quiet until that point, looked away from the fire and addressed the Senshi before her. "Their energy signature feels familiar though, doesn't it? Definitely more powerful, but… familiar."

Rai's words were met with an uneasy silence as the Senshi realized that she was right. There was _something_ about this new enemy that felt like something that they had deal with before. Still, none of them could put a name to it.

"Perhaps if I can get one to hold still for long enough, I can compare the energy to some scans that I have saved from earlier battles," said Ami, mind already calculating several variables that she could compare between Yuma. Anything to take her mind off of the dreams she had had last night… "Maybe if we're lucky I can even trace their origin! But I'd have to be able to get pretty close to pick up on the particles left over from their transport. And that's the trouble – we haven't been able to pin one down yet; they're too strong!"

"Right," said Lita. She needed to _do_ something or she was going to go insane. She needed to talk out her anger on something, and she couldn't think of a more worthy target. Maybe if she were completely drained, she wouldn't see _his_ face in her dreams. Nightmares. She wasn't even sure what to call them. "It's definitely been dust or bust so far, but I think we can keep the next one occupied for long enough for you to get a scan in. We just need to hold it down –"

Lita was cut off by a flare from Mars's sacred fire.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have our chance. North entrance to the park," reported Rai.

"Alright. The game plan is to hold the thing down so Mercury can get close enough to get a decent scan. Understood?" asked Venus, pulling out her henshin wand. The rest nodded as they too prepared to transform.

Ten seconds and six flashes of light later, and the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask were rushing into the night, running towards a monster to escape their demons.

XXXXXXXXXX

As the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask approached the park, they could hear screams in the distance.

"Looks like it's on the move, let's go!" said Sailor Venus, as she took off down a path leading in the direction of the noise. The rest followed, and soon they broke into a clearing where a bull-like monstrosity was slowly approaching a terrified woman, who it had cornered in front of a fence. It was bright red, stood on two bright blue hooves, and had massive, golden horns and a ring in its nose.

"Alright," said Venus, addressing her Scouts, the authority ringing in her voice, "Our game plan is to surround it, fire off attacks one after the other to weaken it. Then, Sailor Moon, I want you to use the Moon Rod to hold it still. Then Sailor Mercury can move in. Got it?" ordered Sailor Venus.

"Yes, Captain!" said Sailor Moon with a grin and salute, as the others circled their prey.

Sailor Venus rewarded her with a smile that almost reached her eyes before she took her position in the circle, directly in front of the Yuma, which had just realized it had been surrounded and did not seem thrilled at the idea.

It charged Sailor Venus, who used her Love Me chain to pull one of its legs out from underneath it. As it tried to regain it balance, Sailor Jupiter shot lightening at it from behind. As it stumbled, it roared with rage and turned to see what was behind it, only to have Sailor Mars throw flames rapidly at it, followed by a tiny piece of paper that hit it directly in the middle of its forehead. The Yuma was temporarily frozen.

"Now Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury!"

Sailor Moon called forth all of her remaining energy and channeled it into the Moon Rod. She soon felt the comforting golden glow of Tuxedo Mask's energy as he channeled it toward her to give her additional strength. Warm arms encircled her waist as she channeled the energy, urging it to hold the monster still.

Sailor Mercury lithely jumped next to the brute, computer in hand, and began her scan. Even though she was rapidly typing, she didn't seem to be going fast enough. The Yuma had already overcome Sailor Mars's attack and was currently struggling against Sailor Moon's energy that was keeping it frozen.

Sailor Venus saw Sailor Moon starting to lean on Tuxedo Mask, who was also looking decidedly less steady with each passing minute. They were exerting an enormous amount of energy, and she wasn't quite sure how much longer they could keep it up.

"Mars, Jupiter, channel your energy towards Sailor Moon!"

As the three Scouts looked to their Princess and nodded. As they began to glow, they sent all of their remaining energy towards Sailor Moon, but still it didn't seem to be enough. Sailor Venus knew that if Sailor Mercury didn't finish soon, Sailor Moon would not have enough energy left to finish off the Yuma.

"Mercury, fall back!"

"I almost have it! Just a few more seconds…"

Venus looked to Sailor Moon. She was fading fast. The Yuma was beginning to struggle harder. It was slowly regaining control of its arms and she saw that if it displayed one large power surge, Sailor Moon's hold on it would surely break, leaving Mercury at point blank range…

"Mercury!"

"Just a few more seconds…. I'm nearly there!"

"Mercury, get out of there!" Tuxedo Mask growled, sending a last burst of desperate golden energy towards Sailor Moon. He prayed it would be enough – he could feel how weak she was getting. These endless battles without time to recharge were significantly draining her.

"No, Mercury, finish! We need to know!" Sailor Moon ground out between clenched teeth. "I can do this!"

Sailor Mercury's fingers flew over the keyboard of her Mercury computer. "One… more… minute…"

"MERCURY FALL BACK THAT IS A DIRECT ORDER!"

Sailor Mercury heard the ringing authority in Sailor Venus's tone. But she was so close… So very close…

"I can do this!" screamed Sailor Moon. "Mercury stay where you are!"

Sailor Mars glowed a brilliant red before slumping to the ground, completely spent. Sailor Jupiter followed behind her half a moment later. They had given all of the their energy, with the exception of their critical life force, to Sailor Moon.

Sailor Venus felt herself growing weak, but wouldn't give in. She wouldn't be weak again.

"There!" Mercury triumphantly clicked her computer closed. In one calculated bound, she landed at Venus's side, where she closed her eyes and directed all of her energy towards Sailor Moon.

The energy blast was exactly what Sailor Moon needed. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" In a flurry of light, her attack shot towards the Yuma, which exploded with a shriek into a cloud of dust.

Sailor Moon slumped against Tuxedo Mask, while Sailor Venus went to check on Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter, who were still lying on the grass, breathing shallowly.

Before the ashes from the Yuma had even settled, Sailor Mercury had flipped back open her Mercury Computer and was analyzing the readings that she had got from the Yuma.

She gasped. When the others looked to her, she was white as the snow she comanded.

"D Point," she breathed. "It came from D Point."

* * *

><p>Well, there you have it! I have a few more chapters outlined, so the wait won't be nearly as long. Thank you for all of your support!<p>

Elle


	7. CHAPTER SIX: Bad Moon Rising

**REVELATIONS**

**CHAPTER SIX: Bad Moon Rising**

Hi there, faithful readers. I'm finished with law school for the year, so I will definitely be updating more frequently! I feel so accomplished – but it's strange to actually have free time again. Strange, yet wonderful!

Anyway, thank you so much for sticking with me. This chapter is longer than usual, but I know it's been a long time coming so I didn't want to leave anything out.

As always, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and followed this story. It means so much and is such a great motivation! So, **THANK YOU! =]**

Disclaimer: Nope. I still don't own Sailor Moon. Sad.

XXXXXXXXXX

_"D Point," she breathed. "It came from D Point."_

"I think I just hallucinated. Run that by me again?" said Mars as she tiredly propped herself up from where she had collapsed. Mercury simply blinked at her, seemingly in shock.

"What are the chances that you've made a mistake?" asked Tuxedo Mask, not quite believing what the Water Senshi's words.

Mercury let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. "I think you know that as well as I do," she said, pocketing her computer and powering down her visor. She couldn't deal with this right now. Tired as she was, she needed to do something, walk somewhere, fight something. She began pacing around the clearing. "The particles were a perfect match to the earliest youmas we faced. This thing came straight from D Point, no two ways about it. Now the question is – how?" Mercury looked around at the others, eyes a bit too bright and voice a bit too high.

"How could they come from D Point? We died clearing everything out of there and the Silver Crystal smoked Beryl! I mean we _died _cleaning house there - how is this possible?" asked Jupiter, who had just gotten shakily to her feet with the help of Venus.

_We died,_ whispered a voice in the back of Sailor Moon's head. _We died, so how can we be so sure? You assumed that the crystal had killed Beryl because you had woken up safe and warm in your bed and the attacks had stopped – but did you actually see her die? _

Sailor Moon shook her head, trying to get rid of that doubt. The attacks _had_ stopped, at least until the Cardians came to town – but those weren't from D Point. She and her Senshi were in their third year of university, Darian was in his second year of medical school. It had been over six years since she had recovered the crystal and defeated Beryl. Still, she couldn't shake that doubt…

"Mercury, run your scans again. This isn't possible," ordered Venus. Her voice was eerily calm, but loud enough to interrupt Sailor Moon's thoughts.

"What for? A one percent match doesn't leave room for questions!" shouted Mercury, hands in the air. The normally collected senshi seemed to have reached her breaking point – something which was not lost on Sailor Moon.

"Hey, hey listen to me!" cried Sailor Moon as she too pushed herself to her feet, effectively cutting off Venus's red-faced retort. "We're not going to start arguing with each other over this! I know a hell of a lot has been going on recently, but we've got to stick together. Now let's all just take a minute and process this. Got it?"

At this, Sailor Moon pushed her doubts aside and looked around at her Senshi. Slowly, they all nodded, their expressions softening to something between sheepishness and exhaustion, with an unmistakable glint of hysteria. God, this was the last thing they needed right now – to let this get the best of them - but she wouldn't let them take it out on each other. Not now. They needed each other too much.

"Good. Now Mercury, you're absolutely sure?"

"Yes," she replied, the edge gone from her voice. "Like I said, the residual particles that remain from their transport are the exact same composition of those from the youma originating in D Point. My computer doesn't indicate that there is any other place in the universe with that same makeup – they're distinctly Terran."

This was met with even further silence as the exhausted Senshi processed this. On top of their lives being completely uprooted by the knowledge of the Generals, it was clear that this was simply proving to be too much.

"If I may make a suggestion – maybe we should call it a night and meet tomorrow afternoon," suggested Tuxedo Mask. Clearly, they were not about to unravel this mystery tonight and could all use a decent night's sleep.

"I think that might be our best option," sighed Venus. She was exhausted – mentally and physically – and as dire a situation as this was, she knew that they were not going to have any revelations that night. "Tomorrow is Tuesday, so if memory serves we'll all be finished with classes by 3:45. Let's meet at the Temple at 4:30. If you have work, plan to call off. This isn't something that can be put off any longer."

The Senshi all nodded in agreement. None of the Senshi wanted to linger; no one had anything to say. They let their transformations fade and let the shadows claim them as they went their separate ways, all hoping that they had exerted enough energy to warrant a dreamless sleep.

Serena sighed as she watched them go. She stood in the shadow of the trees, pressed up against Darien's chest, his warm arms circling her.

"You know, I think you've earned some rest, too," he said, his rich voice close enough that his breath tickled her ear. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn't help but shiver.

"Well thank you, Your Highness," she said, twisting around so that she was facing him. She attempted to smirk at him, but her muscles just wouldn't cooperate. Instead, she sighed again and rested her head against his firm chest, taking comfort in his warmth and his unique scent and bringing her arms up to circle his waist.

"We're going to get through this," he said, pulling her closer as he began to rub slow circles on her back. "We just need some time to figure everything out – everything has been hitting all at once and everyone is still reeling. But we're going to get our footing back and put an end to this."

For a minute, Serena just closed her eyes and let herself be blindly comforted. Of course things would work out – they _always_ worked out, didn't they?

Sadly, this train of thought didn't last for very long. She couldn't delude herself with false comfort. They were fighting an unknown enemy while dealing with life shattering revelations about a past they thought had been fully revealed to them long ago. Things could very plausibly _not_ work out. Still, Darien's words and his presence did give her strength.

Sighing for a third and final time, she hugged him tightly and then stepped back so she could look at him.

"Dare, do you remember me killing Beryl?"

He shifted uncomfortably and pulled on his collar. "You know I wasn't really myself then…"

Serena flinched and shoved him, "I don't mean that! I mean do you actually remember me defeating Beryl? You were the only one with me at the very end. The others had all… fallen by then," she finished softly, looking away from Darian and up into the night sky.

"I just – I don't remember actually beating her," she continued after a moment, her gaze finding his again. "All I can remember is the light of the crystal, wishing for everything to be over, for everyone to be safe, and for her to be defeated, to just be _ordinary_ again. And then I woke up in my bed without my memories, until Luna brought them back. That's it. I don't remember her actually falling. I don't remember seeing her die. I don't – I don't remember…"

Darien looked at her searchingly. She had never told him this before. No one really talked about how their time at D Point had ended. It was painful, to say the least. But if she couldn't remember… then _was_ Beryl dead? Had the Silver Crystal really killed her?

"Sere, the last thing I can remember is dying in your arms. That's it. I was long gone by the time you used the crystal…" At this, they both flinched.

"But then what does this mean? Could she be back?" Serena said, her voice almost a whisper.

"I – I'm not sure. Can you remember what exactly you wished for… in the end? Did you wish for her to die? I know it's hard, but try to remember anything you can, Sere."

"That's the thing – it's a blur, but I don't remember wishing for her to die. To be _defeated_, yes, but to die? God, I was fourteen! Yes, I had been dusting youmas, but I didn't actually want to _kill_ them. I just wanted to defeat them and fight for love and justice and all that. You don't think… Would the Silver Crystal not kill her if I didn't specifically wish for that?" she looked up at him, eyes wide and fearful. "Oh God, Darien, what have I done? Did I not… did it… I don't…"

"Shhh… calm down, everything is going to be fine. Not wanting to end a life isn't a bad thing, Sere. Never think that, ever. If the crystal interpreted your wish as sealing her away, then she should still be there…"

"She should be, but does it seem like D Point is inactive to you?! Dare, I had no idea what I was doing back then. It was the first time I had ever really used the crystal to channel that kind of power. What if she was just sealed away and the seal was broken?!"

Serena had started to shake violently, and Darien couldn't blame her. She had been a fourteen year old kid with the fate of the world in her hands. Literally. Although the cold fear in the pit of his stomach told him that this wasn't something that could easily be dismissed, he couldn't _blame_ her for it, either. Hell, she was the only one who had made it to that point alive – she was the only reason the world was still spinning, many times over. They would get to the bottom of this. He just hoped that Beryl wouldn't be there waiting for them. He still had nightmares about that bitch brainwashing him. It wasn't something that could be easily forgotten…

Not knowing what else to do or say, he simply held her close, whispering quiet words to her and rubbing her back. Finally, the shaking subsided, and Serena slumped against him, exhausted.

"Let's get you home so you can get some rest. I don't want you to think about any of this until tomorrow. No 'buts.' You need a decent night's sleep if you're going to keep using energy at this rate."

_It's not like I'll ever be able to get to sleep…_

"I heard that. Now I know you don't have class until 11, so I want you to take something to help you sleep. I'll just get something from my medicine kit and bring it by in a little. That should at least let you get some rest."

"Oh, the perks of having a boyfriend in med school," Serena said, managing to roll her eyes. He was glad he could at least get some kind of response out of her.

"Stick with me, kid, and you'll be just fine!"

At that, Serena couldn't help but smile. "Goof," she said, half-heartedly hitting his shoulder.

"Who would have thought?" he countered. "Although, considering what you used to call me, I'll consider that a compliment, meatball head."

Serena snorted, and pushed him away as she started walking toward the park exit. Darien caught up quickly and grabbed her hand. She leaned into him as he walked her home in a comfortably silence. The night was clear, but summer was quickly turning to fall and Serena couldn't tell if the chill in the air was from the weather or the thought of Beryl.

The couple stopped around the corner from Serena's house to say goodnight. It was already close to 10, and the last thing that Darien wanted was to be seen by Serena's father. Especially not at this time of night. He had faced enemies from across the galaxy, but none inspired the same kind of fear that Ken did… Especially since he had offered to take Darien to the shooting range and teach Darien what he knew.

Darien pulled Serena into his arms and kissed her deeply. The kiss was a little reckless, a little harsh, but he was feeling deeply unsettled and he just needed to feel her. Not quite aware of his actions, he soon had her pressed up against the stone wall and was kissing his way down her neck as she moaned his name, running her hands through his ebony hair. A sudden car alarm called them back to reality, and soon they were both straightening their clothes and slowing their rapid breathing.

"You should get inside before it gets too late," he said, not wanting her to leave. "I'll be back soon with that pill. Don't forget to unlock your window."

Serena leaned up on her tip toes and planted a series of hot kisses on his mouth.

"I'll be waiting!" She said as she quickly pushed away from him and sashayed around the corner, giggling as she heard him groan.

_You'll be the death of me! _She heard him complain through their link.

_Love you, too!_

Serena was still smiling as she unlocked her front door and carefully relocked it behind her. She slipped off her shoes and went into the kitchen to find her parents drinking tea.

"You're home late for a school night, aren't you?" remarked her father sternly.

Serena knew this had been coming, but wasn't concerned. She had come a long way from the 39% marks on her algebra homework, and Ken knew it. In university, she had received top marks in several of her classes and had even received honors for numerous semesters.

"I don't have class until 11 tomorrow, you know! I've been working hard – I think I deserve to watch How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days and have some ice cream with the girls!" Serena deflected his light criticism easily as she poured her own cup of tea.

"Did you learn anything from that?"

"What was that, dad?"

"_Ken! "_

"I said what are you learning in your class tomorrow?"

"Oh, I think we're supposed to be having a discussion on the American public education system. From what I've read, it's really depressing."

"Well, that sounds interesting. You know, I'm proud of you, dear. You really had us worried for a while, there, but no matter… Get to sleep, honey."

"Yes, dad," Serena giggled, hugging both of her parents before taking her tea and heading upstairs. "Good night!"

She slowly trudged up the stairs, feeling the physical toll that repeatedly fighting these freakishly strong youmas was having on her more and more with each step. Although she felt just about ready to collapse by the time she had reached her room and quietly closed the door behind her, she could not stop her mind from racing, reliving her memories from her final moments at D Point. Try as she might, she could not actually remember wishing for Beryl to die – or figure out what this could mean for them.

With a frustrated sigh, she went through her nightly ritual, pulling the pins from her hair and stepping into the shower to wash the day off. She let the warm water work over her aching muscles and washed the dust from the battle out of her long blonde hair. Darien had always told her that she looked like sunshine, but she remembered back in her days as a Princess of the Moon Kingdom, her hair had been more akin to moonlight, silver and fluid. She was thankful that at least that didn't change when she regained her identity – it would have been rather difficult to explain. Not many fourteen year old girls would die their hair that color: platinum blonde, yes, but not _silver_.

Serena finished conditioning her hair and turned off the water. As she toweled off her hair, brushed her teeth, and slipped on a fresh nightgown, she couldn't help but hope that whatever sleep aid Darien gave her would work. She was exhausted and knew that she needed to get some sleep to keep up her strength, but saw Beryl whenever she closed her eyes.

Cringing, she opened the door to her room to find her Prince lounging on her bed, flipping through one of her textbooks.

"Can you be any more of a nerd?" She teased, throwing her balled up pair of socks at him. She didn't know whether to cringe or swoon when he deftly caught them without looking up.

He looked up at her with a dazzling crooked smile – the one he reserved specially for her – and she though, _Swoon. Definitely swoon._

"That's no way to speak to a man that is training to save lives. Show some respect!" He said as she plopped down on the bed next to him, all blonde hair and long legs. _God, I'm lucky_, he thought as he pulled her into his arms and planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Fork over the medicine and I'll consider it," she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.

"What's the magic word?"

"Blow-"

They both held their breath as the creak of the bottom step indicated that Serena's parents were heading to bed. After a few minutes, they could hear Ken snoring from down the hall.

"What was that now, Princess?" Darien smirked at her as he propped himself up on one elbow, his hair ruffled. _Damn him for always looking so good_, Serena though as she playfully knocked his elbow out from under him.

"Keep that up and you'll never find out!"

"You're cruel," he groaned, handing her a tiny pill.

"And you complete me," she smirked at him, while taking the pill with a sip of water. Darien just groaned.

"What was that?"

"I said I love you, forever," he said, sitting up and pulling her into his arms. "Now, try to lay down and get some sleep. That should give you a solid eight hours at least."

"Yes, doctor," she giggled, kissing him softly.

"I'm serious, Sere. I'm worried about the energy levels you're using. I know, I know, you have to. But that also means you have to take care of yourself. And that means sleep!"

"I know. I'm exhausted. It's just that I can't stop thinking about everything that we've learned about Beryl in the past few days. How she tricked me into.. into… _that_… and now D Point…"

Darien wrapped his arms even tighter around her. "Don't think about _that_ Sere. It's in the past. You're my soul mate, you're mine, and that's all that matters. Now get some sleep, love. You need it," he kissed her on the forehead and started to leave.

"Stay with me?" Serena asked quietly. "I know you don't want to sleep here in case dad checks on me, which I don't want either, but just, until I fall asleep, stay with me?

"Always," he said, laying back down and pulling her back into his arms.

"Thanks. I love you, Dare."

"I love you, too. I'll be here."

"I know," she said, snuggling closer.

Darien couldn't help but smile has he looked down at the blonde angel in his arms. They had been through so much together, but she had truly saved him in every possible way. He hated to think of his life before her. But he would not lose her for anything – and that included whatever would be waiting for them at D Point or in long lost memories. They would get through it all.

Serena's breathing slowed into the steady rhythm of sleep. Between the warmth of his Princess, the light breeze filtering in through the window, and the exhaustion from dealing with the past few days, Darien didn't even notice when he drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Darien found himself walking through a rose garden that looked awfully familiar. It was foggy, and he could only see a few paces ahead of him. The only reason he knew it was a rose garden was the smell. That and the fact that he had visited Serenity here in his dreams, almost nightly, from the time of his accident to the time when he realized his Serena was Serenity.

Suddenly, a feminine voice swore, breaking the silence. Not a moment later, he heard the crash of someone falling to the ground.

"Sere, are you here?"

"Darien?!" She called back, astonished.

"I'm coming. Just stay right where you are and I'll find you."

He laughed aloud, heard her swear again, and laughed even harder. Serenity and her incarnation may appear to be identical, but there would be absolutely no confusing the two of them.

When Darien found her, she was sitting on the ground, her soft white gown spread out around her. He couldn't help but just stare at her for a moment, as she looked up at him, the moonlight causing her skin to glow. She looked every inch the goddess she was descended from. And then she spoke.

"Reincarnated Princes be damned, chivalry really _is_ dead." With that she got to her feet, refusing Darien's help which came just a few seconds too late.

As Serena's grumbling finally subsided, the couple heard footsteps coming towards them. Endymion's warrior training took over as Darien planted himself firmly in front of Serena.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" He bellowed into the fog.

He was met with laughter which sounded like soft chimes. "Dear Endymion, it is I, Queen Serenity."

Serena gasped, stepping towards her. "Queen Serenity?"

"My Queen," greeted Darien, kneeling on one knee and lowering his head. "My apologies."

"Nonsense, Endymion, please rise." He heard her bell-like laughter again. "You were only protecting my daughter, as you have done now in two lifetimes and through countless battles. It is I who should be apologizing to you. To you both."

"What are you saying?" asked a bewildered Serena.

The Queen sighed. "It appears as though my magic is waning. As you grow in power, my dear daughter, my own hold on the Crystal's magic grows weaker."

"What.. what do you mean?" breathed Serena, stepping away from the Queen of the Silver Millenium and moving to stand beside Darien.

"My dear, you know that I am but a fragment the Silver Crystal's power. I was killed that day on the Moon, after using my life force to seal away Metallia. My last wish was that I could see you, dear Serenity, inherit the power that was rightfully yours. That is why the Crystal has allowed this piece of my spirit to remain with you, to offer you all the guidance I can."

"Well, yes… Yes, I know that. But what does that have to do with anything?" asked Serena. Darien could hear the slight panic in her voice and put his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side. She involuntarily leaned into his warmth.

Queen Serenity chuckled; although Serena may be far less graceful than her Serenity, it seemed some things would never change. "My dear, it was _everything_ to do with _everything_. Particularly the visions of the past that have been starting to escape my hold and find their way back to you."

"So you're the one who's been sending them? Not the new enemy?" asked Darien, who was now also trying his best to remain calm.

"I don't know if 'sending' is exactly the right phrasing… When you were reincarnated, I shielded you both from some of the more… _painful_ memories of the past in an effort to give you a better life. I never thought that the day would come when I would be too weak to confine those memories, or that you would, in fact, need them."

"_Need_ them?" asked Endymion. "So this _does_ have something to do with the new enemy…?"

"Yes, dear Endymion, it does – although sadly the enemy you are now facing is not quite so new. Maybe it's for the best if I were to share your full memories with you first, and then answer any questions you may have."

Darien nodded. Serena looked reluctant, but eventually nodded as well, taking Darien's hand.

"Close your eyes, children, and remember…"

Her voice faded away as a burst of warm, silver energy washed over them. The last thing Darien was aware of was Serena's trembling form and quiet whimper.

XXXXXXXXXX

_"Everyone, thank you for joining us tonight for this great celebration," Endymion began. As his words were met with applause, a bitter smile played on his lips. Once the people heard his next words, there would be no more applause. Except from a certain dark haired man…_

_"Before the festivities begin, I have an announcement to make. Princess Serenity and I have decided…"_

_Endymion's words died on his lips as a tremor shook the Grand Ballroom of the Moon Palace. Screams echoed through the gargantuan chamber as an explosion destroyed the East wall. Chaos erupted as partygoers scrambled away from the destruction. Deadly bursts of dark energy coming through the massive hole in the wall hit several and they crumpled to the ground, unmoving._

_"Serenity, Endymion," Endymion gasped as he turned to find Queen Serenity standing behind him, hugging Serenity tightly, and looking through him with wild, panicked eyes, taking in the chaos._

_"Y-Yes, my Queen?" Despite everything that had transpired between him and her traitorous daughter, Endymion still held great respect for the Queen of the Silver Millenium._

_Endymion's voice seemed to draw Queen Serenity out of her trance. She blinked down at him, her eyes once again held the serene yet calculating gaze that he had come to know._

_"Endymion, please take my daughter to safety and protect her with your life. I will find you when it is safe."_

_Endymion nodded; the skills drilled into him during the long hours spend training with his generals instantly kicked in and he found himself calculating the best route to escape the ballroom, where to safely hide Serenity, and where he was most needed in the fight. He had known that it would only be a matter of time before the force that had overtaken his own planet sought out the Moon Kingdom. At a time like this, he wished he had his generals at his side. Sadly, they had been missing, presumed dead, ever since the final battle and the fall of Terran Palace – his home. However, Endymion's training kept these thoughts from entering his conscious mind. Grabbing Serenity by the wrist, he raced up the grand staircase._

_"Endymion, please, slow down!" cried Serenity, tears streaming down her face. "What will become of my mother? Of all of our guests? Of my friends? Oh, Endymion, we have to do something!"_

_Her words were lost on Endymion, who was concentrating on the sounds of battle coming towards them from the main entrance to the palace. Sensing that the battle was approaching from that side as well, he changed directions and charged out onto the terrace, Serenity in tow. _

_Endymion was looking for a way out of the chaos, but Serenity had other ideas. She pulled him close, tears sliding down her cheeks, and kissed him deeply. It was a lover's kiss, and Endymion wasn't prepared to defend against it. Instead, his body responded automatically to hers. Soon, he had her pushed up against a wall on the terrace, as the chaos swirled around them. Finally, Serenity broke away with a loud, pained cry._

_"Oh, Endy," Serenity sobbed. "Please, hear me out. It was never supposed to be like this. She promised! She promised no one would get hurt if I left you alone!"_

_"Shhh, we need to get to safety. Fast." Endymion was confused as hell, but his warrior instincts were taking over again._

_Serenity nodded as he grabbed her hand and led her deep into the palace gardens. When they could no longer hear the fighting, Endymion still insisted on moving forward. It was not until Serenity forcibly sat down on a bench that he finally stopped._

_"Endy, you have to listen to me, please," she begged, looking up at him with terrified, broken eyes. "I did all of this to protect you. To project our kingdoms. But that bitch tricked me! She lied to me and it was all for nothing!"_

_Now her bright blue eyes flashed with fiery anger._

_"Serenity, what are you talking about?" Asked Endymion, trying to keep his voice calm. His eyes were sweeping the landscape around them, on the alert for even the most minute sign of trouble._

_Serenity took a deep breath and then looked up at him, her eyes unsure but yet full of a maturity that Endymion had never seen before._

_"I'm talking about Beryl."_

_"Wh.. what?" stammered, Endymion, completely numb._

_Serenity nodded sadly, with the regal air of the queen she would never become in this life. "She cornered me at the Terran Palace, not too long after our parents started finalizing the arrangements for our engagements."_

_What are you talking about? Those arrangements were made in private! No one else knew about them!"_

_Serenity could sense Endymion's anger building, and she knew that she deserved it. Still, she couldn't handle his temper right now. Not when their time together may be so short. She shuddered at the thought._

_"For once in your life, will you just listen? Beryl cornered me and said that if I did not leave you alone, if I did not somehow break off our engagement and convince you that I didn't love you, your entire family would be killed and the Earth would fall into the hands of an evil being called Metalia. She said that only she had the power to save your life, but she would only do so if you had nothing to do with me."_

_"Serenity…"_

_"What choice did I have?! I was a pampered princess. I knew nothing of the ways of the world. She said that she would kill me and Mother if I breathed a word of this to anyone. She had threatened the lives of everyone I cared about. What else could I do? I had to do as she asked. "_

_"Sere…" _

_"That's when I remembered Seiya. He had obviously been interested in me, but of course I only had eyes for you, love. But I needed a plan. As much as it killed me to use him, I did. I used him! I betrayed him, like I betrayed you! I convinced him that… that…" Tears threatened to overtake her, but in a moment of strength that Endymion didn't know she was capable of, she composed herself. "I convinced him to sneak to Earth with me… to sneak into your Rose garden. The one place where I knew that you would find us."_

_"Serenity I… Why didn't you tell anyone?" Endymion's mind was reeling. So Serenity did love him and only him? It had all been a ruse? He felt the feeling of hope bloom in his chest and for a moment completely forgot about the chaos in the Moon Palace and the danger they were in. Serenity was the only thing that mattered to him in that moment._

_"Did you not hear what I just said?!" Her eyes flashed in anger._

_"Serenity, how could you be so stupid to believe her? Why wouldn't you tell someone? Why wouldn't you tell _me? Why…" _ Thousands of questions rushed through his mind, but she cut him off before he could make any further inquiries. _

_"I know _now _that I was stupid. And it didn't matter anyway. The Earth is lost, your people have been brainwashed, and now my kingdom is being attacked. Nothing I did could save anyone anyway! I was such a fool, Endy! Such a naive little fool! How could I have been so stupid?"_

_Serena finally broke down and buried her head in her hands as sobs wrecked her body. Finally, Edymion sat down beside here and pulled her into his lap._

_"Did you honestly believe her bluff?"_

_"Look around, Endymion, it's not a bluff!"_

_"So you think Beryl and this Metallia are behind this?"_

_"Who else?"_

_After of moment of silence, Endymion conceded. "I think you're right, Sere. Gods, I never thought we'd be in a mess like this. I have to get back to the palace and warn your mother. Stay here and stay hidden. I'll be back as soon as everyone is safe."_

_"No, Endy, I'm…"_

_Serenity's words were lost as Endymion pulled her into a scorching kiss. It wasn't nearly as gentle as the kisses they had shared in the past, and nowhere near as safe. Endymion kissed her until his breath ran out, and then he pulled back and kissed her again. _

_When the couple broke apart, they were both breathing heavily. Serenity felt dazed, but at the same time her blood was on fire. Only Endymion could do this to her. It had always only been him. The fact that she had been tricked into giving her virginity to a man she didn't love… a man who wasn't Endymion… Well, when this was over Beryl was going to have a lot to answer to._

_"I love you, Sere," he breathed. "Even after everything, you've always had my heart. Somehow, I think, I knew it couldn't be true. I knew you were mine and mine alone."_

_"I love you, too, Endy. And never forget it," she reached up on tiptoes to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. _

_Endymion pulled Serenity into a tight embrace and then suddenly broke away, heading in the direction of the palace. Turning to look over his shoulder, he called, "Please be safe, Sere, and remember to stay hidden! Remember, I'll be back for you. I love you, always."_

_With that he raced away, towards the battle._

_"I love you, too, my Prince," Serenity whispered to his retreating form._

_Serenity got up the bench and paced. She hated to just sit here, but what else could she do? She would only be in the way…_

_Her thoughts were interrupted by a piercing scream that seemed to originate from behind the thick hedging. Moving slowly forward, she tried to get a look at what was happening without giving away her presence._

_"Zoicite… what?" _

_Mercury! It was the Princess of Mercury, her longtime friend and sworn protector! Mercury was dressed in her warrior uniform, a sailor fuku, and she seemed to be in trouble. But Serenity couldn't see where exactly the trouble was coming from. She stood facing Zoicite, one of Endymion's generals. Mercury and Zoi had fallen in love during a chance meeting at the Terran palace. Mercury had accompanied Serenity for a secret meeting with Endymion, and Zoicite, in turn, had been protecting his price. The two quickly became inseparable, and Serenity knew that they, too, planned to marry._

_But looking at the two of them together, now… Serenity could tell something was wrong._

_"Lady Mercury," Zoicite sneered._

_"Zoi, what's wrong? You shouldn't be here. It's your duty to protect Endymion, not me! I'll be fine… I just need to figure out where Serenity went." With that, Mercury called upon her computer and started doing a scan of the area._

_Serenity was just about to step forward when Mercury turned toward Zoicite and gasped._

_"You're… You're not…"_

_Zoicite chuckled darkly, "No, I'm not." With that, he sent a blast of dark energy hurtling toward Mercury. She deftly dodged it by jumping high in the air, coming to land behind Zoicite._

_"What have you done with him?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?" _

_"It'll all be over soon, Lady Mercury. Then your body will be infused with dark energy, just like Zoicite's was. You'll be a great asset. So much power, so much beauty…" He stepped forward and ran an icy hand down her cheek. _

_Mercury shivered, and let her guard drop for a moment as she remembered the times when _her_ Zoicite had caressed her in the exact same thing. Now, he was dead. She had thought she felt their bond break, but for once in her life had refused to face the facts that were just too painful to bear. She would never see him again, never hear his bell-like laughter or see his crooked grin._

_A distraction was exactly what the evil creature masquerading as Zoicite had been looking for. Before Serenity could even yell out a warning to Mercury, the Dark Zoicite had lodged an ice crystal through Sailor Mercury's abdomen._

_"You… you…"_

_"Such a waste, Lady Mercury," the Dark General said as he turned on his heel and sauntered away from his dying love._

_Calling up one final burst of strength, Mercury rose of her feet and launched herself towards Zoicite with an inhuman cry. The couple was engulfed by a blinding blue light. Serenity tried to shield her eyes, but she was a moment too late. _

_When Serenity finally regained her vision, Mercury lay on the ground, breathing shallow breaths. Her sailor fuku was in tatters and covered with blood from the gaping wound in her side. Already, the blood was pooling under her._

_Next to her was Zoicite, or what had at one time been his body. It was frozen in ice, the dark creature's face contorted in a mask of rage. He didn't seem to be a threat anymore, and to be quite frank, Serenity didn't care. She forced her way through the hedging and knelt down beside Mercury._

_The warrior was mortally wounded, but she could still sense Serenity's presence._

_"Sere…"_

_"Shhh, Ami, I'm right here."_

_"Sernity, they got him! Zoi… They got him!"_

_"Shhh, shhh"_

_"Sere, they killed him, and I felt our bond break, and I knew… I knew…" Mercury tried to sit up, but couldn't make it. Serenity knelt down in front of her so she could clearly see her face, unable to mask the tears that were flowing steadily._

_"Ames, what did you know?"_

_"I... I…" She coughed and tried to continue, but her strength was wavering. "Sere, I failed you," Mercury whispered. "You need to get out of here. I knew it wasn't Zoi, but I couldn't accept it. And now I can't protect you anymore."_

_"Ami, it's alright, everything's going to be alright, you just need to rest…" Serenity's tears were starting to flow harder now. She was just this was the last conversation she would have with her friend._

_"Serenity, listen to me. You need to get out of here. You need to hide. Endymion will come for you. Stay safe, you're the Alliance's only hope."_

_"Ami? AMI!" sobbed Serenity. "Ami, please hang on. Help will be here soon."_

_A small, sad smile played on the ice senshi's lips as she drew her last shallow breath. "No one's coming, Sere. This is it. Thank you, for being my friend. Be strong… I believe… in you… my friend" Amy exhaled and was still._

_"Ami?" Serenity shook her gently. "Ami, please, you have to wake up! AMI!"_

_Serenity collapsed, sobbing, her friend's blood soaking her pristine, white evening gown. In her heart, she had felt Ami's soul leave her body. She knew it was too late for her dear friend._

_Serenity allowed herself a few moments of despair before she forced herself to take deep, steadying breaths. _

_The generals were brainwashed. Even Ami, smart, proud, Ami, had been distracted by their disguise. Whoever was attacking knew the inner workings of Serenity and her guard – knew that not only were she and Endymion in love, but that her senshi had also fallen for the Terran generals. Now, it appeared as though the enemy was brainwashing the generals and using them against the senshi. And maybe even Endymion._

I have to warn the others. I have to make this right. _Serenity raced through the hedging and along the path that Endymion had disappeared to ten minutes prior. She held up her skirts as she raced towards the terrace._

_As Serenity ran along the path, she felt Jupiter and Mars fall. Tears flooded her vision and she wanted nothing more than to stop running, hide, and cry for her friends. But she had to grow up. She had to protect her kingdom. She refused to let her senshi sacrifice their lives in vain. _

_She had already endangered everyone by not telling them about Beryl's threat. It may have cost the senshi their lives, and it almost cost her Endymion. Somehow, she had to make this right. If they could just defeat whatever enemy dared attack the Silver Alliance, surely Mother could use the Silver Crystal to revive her Senshi. Everything would be alright. It had to be…_

_Serenity could see the terrace come into view. Behind it, the Moon Palace was engulfed in flames. As she continued to run, her white satin dress flying out behind her, Serenity felt the leader of the Senshi, her cousin, Venus, fade._

_Mother will save them. She has to. She will save the kingdom. She will save all of this. Tomorrow, it will be as if none of this was real… I just need to reach her. To warn her. _

_As Serenity sprinted up the steps of the terrace, the world exploded. Rubble rained down around her, and she found herself thrown back against the trailing._

_Through the dust, she caught a glimpse of the fires of hell. Or so it appeared on first glance. As the smoke settled, she realized it was actually Beryl's flowing, red hair, silhouetted by the flaming Moon Palace._

_Serenity gasped as she heard movement to her left. Endymion threw rubble off of himself and stood shakily. Then, with a king's grace and a warrior's fury, he turned toward Beryl._

_"You pitiful witch. If you think that I would ever join you, you're more delusional than I thought."_

_"But my dear," Beryl crooned, "together we could rule the entire universe. If you come with me, I will see to it that Metallia releases your people. And once we destroy that pitiful, cheating Moon Princess, the Alliance, too, shall be ours!"_

_"You will never hurt a hair on Serenity's head, you filthy whore!" Endymion charged towards her, sword drawn, and impaled her. As Endymion pulled his blood covered sword out of Beryl's torso, she started to cackle. _

_Endymion, whose confusion quickly gave way to concern, retreated back a few paces._

_Beryl continued to laugh, even as blood gushed down her hideous purple dress. Then, before his eyes, she began to glow with a dark energy._

_With just a flick of her wrist, Beryl sent Endymion flying back into the railing._

_"Endymion, NOOO!" _

_Both Endymion and Beryl froze. Neither had noticed Serenity before she ran toward Endymion, flinging her arms around him._

_"Sere," he said, embracing her tightly and cringing at the pain in his back as he did so, "what are you doing here? You're supposed to be hiding in the garden, safe and sound…"_

_"Zoi got Ami. I came to tell you as fast as I could," she whimpered, looking at him with wild, frightened eyes._

_"What are you talking about? You need to get out of here!"_

_"Endy, listen to me! You need to listen! Beryl brainwashed your generals! She killed them and filled them with a dark energy. They killed the senshi," Serenity said with tears streaming down her face. "They're gone. No help is coming. I think they killed the generals, I know Ami did, but.. but… God Endy, this is all my fault."_

_"Shhh, Sere, it's all going to be alright. I just need you to run. ARRRGHHHHH!"_

_Endymion collapsed on top of her, as Beryl cackled wildly behind him. Serenity gasped, "Endy, Endy, no!" She couldn't quite believe that she was seeing. Beryl had run Endymion through with his own sword while Serenity had distracted him He had collapsed in her lap and was breathing shallow breaths. It was her fault, it was all her fault… this couldn't be happening. She looked from Endymion to Beryl with wild eyes. Where was her mother? Why wasn't she using the crystal to save them? To make everything right with the world, like she always did before?_

_"Sere, run, promise me you'll run!" Endymion called her back to attention, wildly trying to find her face and squeezing her hand._

_"Endy, I love you, don't leave me!" she sobbed. This was all a nighmare. She would wake up in her bed, safe and sound, any second now…_

_"Sere, I love you too. Now go!" A seizure shook him, and he was still._

_Any second now, Luna will come in and wake me, yell at me for sleeping the day away. She'll brush my hair and I'll pick out a dress that I think Endymion will like…_

_Endymion. Endymion was lying unmoving in her arms. This wasn't a nightmare. This was real. She had to act. She couldn't sit here, frozen, an easy target. She had to face her fear. _

_Serenity gingerly removed herself from under him and stood to face Beryl, who was still holding Endymion's sword and laughing manically. _

_"So, we meet again, you pitiful little princess. I told you it would come to this if you didn't get out of my way!"_

_"YOU KILLED HIM!" Serenity cried. "I did all that you asked and you killed him anyway!" The sound of Beryl's voice had awoken a deep rage in Serenity; the Princess of the Moon lunged forward toward Beryl. The Dark Queen saw her coming and pushed her away with minimal effort._

_Serenity was scrambling to get up when she suddenly felt her body stop responding to her. Her limbs wouldn't respond, and she blinked, startled. A cloud of dark energy surrounded her, and she no longer could control her movements. Even as her mind screamed with protest, Serenity found herself kneeling before Beryl in total submission. _

_"Very good, little princess. Now, finish it for me so I don't get my hands dirty."_

_Serenity watched in horror as she accepted Endymion's sword from Beryl and turned to walk towards her prince. She tried with all of her might to fight against Beryl's power, but the witch was just too strong._

Endy, _her mind cried out to him. _Endy, please wake up. Please help me.

_To her surprise, her prince began to stir. She watched in wonder as golden sparks played over the rapidly healing would in his chest._

The Golden Crystal!_ She thought. He must have inherited its power when his parents were killed!_

_Endymion got shakily to his feet and turned back towards Beryl and Serenity, who was now only ten feet away from him, sword drawn. His Princess was jerkily walking towards him with tears streaming down her face._

_"Serenity what are you doing, you need to get out of here! This isn't a game! Go now, before it's too late!"_

_Endymion blinked in confusion as Serenity kept moving towards him. He could feel the terror through the mental link he shared with her; he could hear Beryl's maniacal laughter in the back ground._

_"Sere?"_

_Endymion began to take note of the dark cloud surrounding his Princess. Suddenly, he felt his stomach drop as the pieces fell into place. Serenity was under Beryl's control._

_"Let her go, if you know what's good for you!" he screamed at the witch, lunging towards Serenity in an attempt to remove the sword from her grasp._

_"Too late," smiled Beryl. With the flick of her write, she forced Serenity to hold the sword high above her own chest._

_"NOOOOO!" Endymion watched in horror as Serenity raised the sword, her tear stained eyes meeting his own._

I love you, Endymion. Be safe. _Her voice entered his mind like a sweet breeze, and then she was gone. Blood stained her pearl white dress crimson, and his sword clattered to the floor._

_"Sere, Sere, look at me! Please look at me!" He tried to revive her, but it was no use. The blade had entered through her heart. _

_Endymion knelt beside his fallen Princess. He couldn't comprehend the blood staining his hands and the deafening silence that reverberated in his mind as their link shattered. He hardly noticed as Beryl continued to laugh as the air around her crackled with dark energy. _

_Then she spoke, her words cutting. "Tut, tut, my prince. No great loss. Now you are free to rule the universe at my side! Rise and join me as I slay the Moon Queen and take my rightful place!"_

_"Beryl, you will pay," he said, his voice steely, his eyes never leaving the face of his lost love. "Prepare to die."_

_Beryl's laughter ended abruptly; she could feel the golden energy radiating off of the Prince of Earth. This was not how things were supposed to happen. He was not supposed to gain control of the Golden Crystal. This was not going to end well for her, despite the dark energy flowing through her veins._

_Serenity was weak and pitiful, without training or control of a crystal. Endymion was anything but._

_Endymion called forth the golden energy burning inside of him. In a blinding flash of light, the golden crystal appeared before him. Beryl shrieked in pain as its golden rays collided with her dark energy._

_The Prince of Earth channeled all of his energy into the crystal. It beamed in a steady, golden arc towards Beryl, who was attempting to hide behind a shield of dark energy. As Endymion poured more and more of his energy into his crystal, Beryl's shield broke and she was engulfed by the golden glow. When it finally subsided, the witch was lying motionless on the ground. Before she took her final shallow breath, a dark shadow left her body and fled into the sky. _

_Endymion barely registered this as he walked slowly back to his Princess's side. Endymion was spent, but he couldn't stop. Not until Serenity was safe._

_"Sere, just hang on, I'm coming."_

_Even as he reached her, he knew that he was too late. Her petal soft lips were already cold, and there was a large pool of blood staining her once pristine white dress and the cool marble underneath her still form. Regardless, he once again channeled the crystal and directed a warm, golden arc of healing energy toward Serenity._

_Sitting there, sobbing, Endymion poured all of his remaining life force energy into Serenity. Still, she would not wake. He knew he was killing himself, but he didn't care. All he could do was try to save her, no matter what the cost. Eventually, spots of gray clouded his vision and he fell on top of his Princess. _

_It was there that Queen Serenity found them hours later, when the fight was over and Metallia had been sealed away. Her own energy was waning, but as she looked down with sorrow at her beloved daughter and Serenity's lost prince, she knew that she would have to give them a second chance. _

_Holding the Silver Crystal high, she let its cool silver light encompass them all, sending them to Earth, years in the future, to have a chance at a normal life._

XXXXXXXXXX

Serena and Darien found themselves in the rose garden once again, with Queen Serenity standing in front of them. A lone tear slid silently down the Moon Queen's cheek as she took in the emotions running through the reincarnated forms of Serenity and Endymion.

"Sere…" Darien cried, pulling her into a crushing hug, trying to convince himself that she was safe and whole.

"Oh, Darien…" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"My dear children, I know this is much to take in, but my power grows weaker as the moon leaves the night sky. I trust that there are some questions you have for me. This may be the last opportunity that I have to speak with you."

Serena tried to compose herself, but Darien refused to let her out of his embrace.

"So you're saying that I succeeded in killing Beryl?"

Queen Serenity sighed. With time short, it wasn't a surprise that Endymion's reincarnation was dropping the formal pretenses. Still, it was strange to be spoken to in such a manner.

"Yes and no, Endymion. You killed a part of Beryl that day, but she had already sold herself to Metallia. That is why she was not completely destroyed. You used the power of the Golden Crystal, which is still alive and well within you. It is where you draw your power from as Tuexdo Mask. You inherited it from your father, the Terran King, when he was killed by Metallia during that fateful battle."

"Why… Why am I just finding out about this now?" He growled, barely able to control his anger.

Queen Serenity sighed again, this time sad. "As you can see from what happened last time you used the crystal, you are willing to sacrifice your life for my daughter's. You were not ready to wield the crystal's true power then, and it killed you in your attempt to save her. I couldn't allow you to do that again. Look back on the battles you have had. You know that you would have used the crystal had you known about it. That would have killed you. Again."

Darien grudgingly admitted that Queen Serenity was right. There was no doubt that he would have used the crystal to protect Serena. He recalled the times that he had simply drawn on what must have been its energy and felt close to losing all of his life force.

Queen Serenity saw these realizations flitting across his eyes, and she laughed. "Endymion, you haven't changed, as much as I know you hate to admit it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. But I have another question…"

"Please be quick, for my time grows increasingly short."

"Has Beryl truly been defeated? And if Serenity defeated Metallia, where is Beryl drawing her power from now, if it is truly her?"

"You are as perceptive as always, dear Endymion," replied the Queen with a sad yet proud smile. "Beryl was defeated, yes, but she was not killed as Metallia was. When Serenity made a wish using the Silver Crystal, she did not wish to kill Beryl, and as the Crystal at times requires very specific instructions, she was merely imprisoned."

The Queen glanced at her daughter, who was now looking pale. "This is nothing to be ashamed of, dearest Serenity. Trust Endymion when he says that seeking to spare a life is never undesirable."

"But -"

"No buts! I am proud of the choices you have made and all that you have accomplished. You saved the world, channeling an incredible amount of energy through the Silver Crystal – a process that could have ended your life even with careful training. Yet, you had none and you succeeded. You have accomplished much, and I am so very proud of you, my daughter. However, we have reached the point where you cannot proceed alone. Beryl has broken free from the crystal that you imprisoned her in at D Point. She has journeyed to the center of the Earth, where she has joined forces with an ancient evil that has been fabled to reside in the planet's core. The tale was truly one of legends, for I did not believe that such an entity existed until witnessing these events."

At this, the Queen paused and looked at the two young people standing bravely before her.

"This power is truly ancient. Serenity, the Silver Crystal alone will not be enough. You will need the power of the Golden Crystal to defeat this being. Endymion, you must learn how to summon it and how to channel its power. It is only with the two crystals working together that you can hope to defeat this evil and bring about the future that has been revealed to you.

"Now, I must go," said Queen Serenity reluctantly, her figure already beginning to fade.

"No, don't leave! " cried Serena, throwing herself out of Darien's arms and rushing forward to embrace the fallen Queen.

"My dear Serenity, fear not! I have every confidence in your abilities, and in those of the team you have surrounding you. These Senshi are the most powerful that our universe has ever seen. Trust in them. And use the crystal to restore their full memories, as well as Luna and Artemis's, when you feel the time is right. You must also use the Silver Crystal's power to reincarnate the Shitennou. You must find them, for they will guide Endymion as he masters the Golden Crystal, and you will need their strength as well. Farewell, my daughter. Farewell, Endymion. Master the Golden Crystal, for it is our only hope."

"Wait! Where can I find the crystal?" Darien shouted at Queen Serenity's fading figure.

"Only you can answer that, Endymion. Take care, dear ones."

With those words, Queen Serenity faded away. Serena and Darien were left alone with their thoughts in the misty rose garden of the long forgotten Terran palace.

XXXXXXXXXX

**A/N**: So, this was longer than usual, but I hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think, what you liked, what you weren't a fan of. I appreciate every review so much that I can't even begin to tell you!

-Elle


	8. CHAPTER SEVEN: Put On Your War Paint

**REVELATIONS**

**CHAPTER SEVEN: Put On Your War Paint**

Hi there, faithful readers! Okay, so I know that I've typically been taking a while between updates, but IT'S SUMMER and that means I can have a life again! So – here you go. I'm going to try to update one every two weeks. Cheers!

Thank you so much to all of my incredible reviewers! Also, I just realized that you could reply to reviews, so yeah. That's a thing. Better late than never, I guess.

ALSO: anyone who understood the "you complete me" reference to the deleted Iron Man 2 scene in the previous chapter – you're awesome. So very awesome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. I don't make any profit from this. Just, you know, the joy in my heart when I see a review. So, yeah. That. Hint.

* * *

><p><em>"…Farewell, Endymion. Master the Golden Crystal, for it is our only hope."<em>

Darien woke gasping, Serena not far behind.

"Did you…. Were you there, too?" she asked, voice hoarse and eyes bright.

"Yeah," he replied, running a hand over his face and trying to calm his racing mind.

They both lay there in silence, listening to the night noises coming softly through the open window and the sound of Ken's snoring.

Darien was reeling. _Beryl is back? She's been behind all of this? …and so that's how we _really _died? The Generals – my Generals – were brainwashed and used against their lovers? And we're to bring them back? How? How do we even find them? They were killed in the early days… And what Golden Crystal? Where is it now? I've always known that my inner strength was golden – but a crystal? How…?_

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt his Princess's soft touch on his chest as she draped her arm around him and pulled him close.

"We're going to get through this, remember?" she asked.

He brought his arm around to rub her back and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"Yeah," he said again softly, not quite believing himself. They lay like that for a while, Serena taking comfort in Darien's soft breathing and Darien staring at the ceiling, rubbing slow circles on her back while holding her close, trying to hold everything together.

The sky slowly got brighter, and Darien knew that he would have to leave soon. He did not want to risk being seen jumping out of his Princess's window. All they needed at this point was for their identities to be compromised.

With a soft groan he slid out of the bed, already missing Serena's warmth.

"I wish you didn't have to go," she said quietly, "But I'll see you at the Temple later, yeah?"

He nodded, and leaned down to kiss her again. "Get your rest."

"I love you, Dare. We're going to figure this out."

"Love you, too. I know," Darien replied, his rich voice hoarse as he disappeared noiselessly out of Serena's bedroom window. He just needed some time to think, so he decided to go to his pacing spot in the park and do what he did best. Darien knew that sleep would not be coming back to him, and it would be great to deal with at least some of these revelations before his 9:30 class.

He decided to forego the rooftops and walk like a normal person. A little normalcy was needed at a time like this, and the walk would do him good. With one last look at his Princess's window, he squared his shoulders and walked off into the coming dawn.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rai was awake before the sun. Her grandfather always said she rose with the sun. Sometimes, she cursed him for just how right he was.

But to be fair, right now she wanted to curse everything.

She swept the already pristine temple steps with a vengeance. As the dry bristles scraped the worn stone, a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. She was freezing. Annoyed, she wiped it away. Grandfather said she had a fever.

He wasn't completely wrong. Her inner fire had been burning high, but the cold (Fear? No. She would not be afraid. She didn't have that luxury.) feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn't be warmed. Just the thought of _him_ –

No. She would not think of him. She would not think of how she had loved him and in that love became weak. Never again. She would not be used. She _would not_. She was so much stronger than that, this time around, physically and mentally. The extra memories of her former training had helped to make sure of that.

There was a time when she could only call on her Senshi powers when she was transformed. Now, with the help of years of experience, both in this life and her passed, she was able to tap into her inner fire whenever she saw fit.

Glancing around the deserted courtyard, she squared her stance and drew her hands together, pointer fingers extended like pistols. Calling on her inner fire, she willed the flames to burst forth, shooting into the early morning chill and warning the air around her. She separated her hands, keeping her fingers extended, and did a series of spins and punches that she remembered her trainers from the Silver Millenium drilling her on. As she twirled through the stances, all glossy ebony hair and searing flames, her muscles recognized the steps from some far away time. A time where she had failed. She would not do so again.

As she finished the last stance and landed gracefully in the same position in which she had begun. She recalled the flames, casually picked up her broom from where she had let it fall, and resumed her sweeping.

Yes, she would be ready.

She was _always_ ready.

_"What's the matter, Lady Mars?" he asked, his mouth pulling up at the corner and his cobalt eyes dancing like the fire she controlled. "Aren't you always ready for a challenge?"_

_She glared at him – a glare that she used often to drive anyone and everyone away, to hide in plain view behind her blazing eyes and her long, glossy hair and her radiant power. But he wasn't just anyone, and she knew from experience that he wasn't going anywhere._

_The ruby sparkling on her finger was evidence of that._

_"Oh, that's cute, Jade. You think you're a challenge?" she smirked, calling forth her fire. She moved with purpose as she crafted a sword made of flames and twirled towards him._

_He brought called forth his own crystal sword and met hers with a ring that sounded like a bell. Steady and distinct, it echoed through the practice arena and several heads turned their way._

_"I'm a lot of things," he said, his rich voice husky and their faces inches apart as they attempted to send the other's sword flying. Flames flared against crystal as they broke apart. With the clang of bells echoing every time their swords met and the intricate footwork, it was almost as if they were dancing._

_Jadeite's laughed filled the arena as they twirled across the floor, swords flying faster than should be humanly possible (but then again they weren't _quite_ human) and hearts racing. With a calculated leap, Rai landed gracefully in the stands; Jadeite was barely half a step behind her._

_Their spar continued up through the stands and eventually over the back wall. Rai leaped down, lithely twisting in mid-air to block her lover's blade. She used the momentum of the impact of their swords to push herself to the right, where she quickly landed and rolled to the side of the stadium into the shade where she could see properly. Jade was there as soon as she turned, his sword already flying._

_She knew he was going to miss her has soon as his sword had begun its arc._

Hah – he's getting rusty!_ She thought, victory speech already writing itself in her mind as she brought her own flaming sword up to meet his chest._

_However, before she could completely raise her arm, Jadeite's sword hit its mark in the water tower above her and gallons of water rained down on them, effectively extinguishing Rai's sword in a hiss of steam and soaking her as it continued to pour out._

_In the time it took Rai to process what had just happened, Jadeite had already joined her under the quasi-waterfall he had just created and pulling her into his arms. _

Told you so_, he said through their link. She could hear his smirk, but couldn't help but smile as he pulled her closer and kissed her deeply, the water pouring down on them and the distinct sound of cheering in the background._

No. She blocked the memory. She would not think of the dreams she had been having as the memories burst forth. She would not think of _him_.

And if he ever showed his face again, well, he wouldn't have much of a face to show when she was finished with him.

She would never forgive him for allowing himself to be brainwashed (for she knew that was what had happened. She was not blind to the fact that she had loved him - that she had agreed to become his wife, for God's sake! – and that love had been used against her. She was not blind to the fact that she had been weak). But more importantly, she would never forgive herself for that weakness.

_Never_, she though again to herself, blinking back tears that she told herself were from staring at the rising sun. Her eyes were too bright in the early light, and she shivered again as she continued to sweep.

She took comfort in the silence. Some storms she had to weather alone; it was in her nature. Yes, some storms she had to weather alone, and this was a hurricane.

XXXXXXXXX

It was a decidedly subdued group that met at the Hikawa Shrine that afternoon. Despite their best intentions, none of the Senshi had slept well, thoughts of D Point plaguing them.

Rai greeted them all as they filed in, not even bothering to attempt a smile, simply nodding at her comrades. They took their seats without much small talk, and Mina wasted no time in calling the meeting to order.

"Mind if we join you?" a familiar voice cut in.

Six warriors and two cats turned abruptly to face the two figures silhouetted against the sunshine.

"Amara! Michelle! What are you doing here?!" cried Serena, jumping up from her seat next to her Prince and running over to throw her arms around both of them. "How is Hotaru?"

"Well, we figured Lita would do some baking…" said Amara [A/N: UGH I DON'T LIKE THEIR ENGLISH NAMES BUT DAMN YOU, CONSISTENCY].

Michelle elbowed her in the ribs, earning her a glare from Amara. Laughing softly, she smiled and put her arm around her love's waist, drawing her close. "Hotaru is doing well. She's really enjoying Ireland, and seems to be happy with boarding school in Kylemore – "

"Or maybe it's just something about living in a castle again," interrupted Amara.

Michelle rolled her eyes at her soul mate before looking back to her Princess and continuing, "She wanted us to let you know that she can come at any time."

"I'm sure we'll need her help sooner or later, but I don't want to pull her out of school until it's absolutely necessary. I'm glad that she's happy," said Serena, smiling.

Michelle nodded in understanding. "Also, we've been gone for too long. This is where we belong," she finished simply.

"You've been out having the lives you deserve. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way, that's why we didn't contact you earlier," said Serena, smiling warmly. "You've definitely earned some down time."

"Besides," interjected Lita, walking up to them and offering them the tray of cookies she had made that morning, "no matter how long you're gone, some things never change."

Amara noticeably brightened as she took two cookies and offered one to Michelle. "I think I've missed you most of all, Lita. You indulge my secret sin," she said, while Michelle laughed, sounding like soft chimes.

"Hey now," whined Serena. Amara laughed as she rumpled her Princess's hair. Serena tried to glare, but couldn't help but smile at her newly returned Senshi.

"Oh don't worry, you're not the only one," replied Lita, also laughing, as she winked at Darien. The Terran Prince simply grumbled something likely explicit while the group erupted in some long overdue laughter. When they had met the introverted man, none of them would have pegged him for such a chocoholic.

"Well, you might as well come in and make yourselves comfortable," said Darien, trying to get the attention back on the matter at hand and away from his sweet tooth. "It's going to be a long night."

At this, the group noticeably sobered and returned to their seats, Amara and Michelle taking over the love seat in the corner.

Amara glanced around the room at the warriors assembled before her. She knew that things had been starting up again, but Serena had assured the couple that there was no reason for them to cancel Michelle's concerts and return. However, their Princess's continued reassurances that they were not needed back so soon, based on the reports that they had been getting, it had been clear that the situation had deteriorated. After Michelle's final concert in Luxembourg, they had hopped on the first flight to Tokyo. That had been yesterday afternoon.

"Alright, bring us up to speed," said Amara, glancing around the room.

"Please," added Michelle, glancing at here partner. "Remember how we talked about manners?" she chided in a softer voice.

Amara merely rolled her eyes, and Darien couldn't help but smile. Michelle was definitely Amara's Serena, no two ways about it. When the Outer Senshi had first appeared, he had been suspicious; however, they had proven themselves time and time again, and he was now honored to count them as comrades. He also knew that it would be important to have them around to put the Generals in their places when they were found and reawaken. At this, he sighed. He sure as hell didn't want to have to be the one to tell the Senshi this new development.

Mina caught up Amara and Michelle on the recent events. By the time she finished, Amara and Michelle were both sitting at attention. Worry was evident on Michelle's normally smooth features; anger did not look entirely out of place on Amara's.

"And that's not even the end of it," added Serena, sounding resigned.

The group all turned to their Princess, unease spreading as they sensed that another bomb was about to be dropped.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" snapped Rai, clearly not amused.

"Queen Serenity came to us in a dream last night," said Darien, glancing around the room. They were taking this as well as could be expected – so far.

"And what did she say?" inquired Ami, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

Serena sighed, also looking around to meet the troubled eyes of her Senshi. "It might be easier for me to show you again."

Lita bit her lip in trepidation. Whatever it was, she had a distinct feeling that's he wasn't going to like it.

Mina nodded, taking on Venus's air of authority as she commanded her troops. "Well, you heard her. Join hands."

They did so, and Serena used her crystal's power to transmit the dream to all of them. She couldn't help but cringe – it was even worse watching it for the second time, because she knew what was coming.

When the vision was finished and the crystal's brilliant silver glow faded, silence filled the room, broken only by Ami's soft sobs. Lita leaned next to her on the couch and put her arm around her friend's shoulders, while Rai awkwardly patted her arm. They glanced at each other, clearly shaken. While they had known when Serena felt them die, they had not relived it as Ami had, watching herself be killed by her soul mate through Serenity's eyes.

Mina startled them all by primly getting up from her seat in Rai's grandfather's armchair and walking to the wall of the Temple. She then proceeded to punch it so hard that the weathered stone cracked. She stood there for a moment in the aftermath and leaned her forehead against the sun-warmed stone, sending up a prayer for strength.

Then, calmly, she surveyed her warriors. Her cornflower eyes were cold steel and her posture was the definition of control; gone was the carefree aspiring actress with hair like sunshine and the personality to match. She held herself like she had in the Silver Millennium when she had been raised as the Princess of Venus and spent her life training for her role as the leader of the guard of the Princess of the Silver Millennium. Venus had risen. Orange light flared around her as transformed without the aid of her henshin wand.

"So, Beryl is back," she stated calmly. Though she didn't phrase it as a question, they both felt inclined to nod at her.

"And to defeat her, we have to bring back the Golden Crystal,"

Darien nodded again.

"And to do so, we have to revive the Generals?" This time, there was a hint of a question in her tone.

"Yes," said Darien, simply, meeting her eyes. He wished that he did not have to place this burden on them, but it could not be helped.

She inclined her head in response, seeming to understand, and then turned her attention to Rai, Ami, and Lita.

"Sisters," she started calmly, meeting the gazes of her Senshi in turn, chin held high and proud, shoulders squared. "Tonight, we will find out our true past. We've been through much together, both in this lifetime and our last. But I know that it has only been half of what we are designed to take. We are Senshi. This is our birthright. Will you stand with me and accept it?"

Venus's words cut through the room like a whip, breaking the Senshi out of the demons they had been battling since Serena had revealed that the Generals were to be found and revived. They looked at her as if she had three heads, not used to this "tough love" approach from the usually bubbly Goddess of Love.

Venus grew impatient. "I asked you, will you stand with me? This is what must come to be. Will you let it break you, or will you fight as you were born to do?"

Amara looked on at the leader of the Inner Senshi with an unmistakable glint of pride in her eyes, but also a pang of sadness. Yes, this was the Venus she remembered - the Venus who had sacrificed everything for her responsibilities. While she had tried to keep up a carefree demeanor to satisfy the requirements of Court life – and to retain some semblance of sanity – Amara could see the toll that it had taken on the young warrior. And it had come to this again.

Rai had finally processed Venus's words and nodded at her slowly, sensing in that moment that Mina was more of a kindred soul than she had realized. Slowly, she stood.

"I will stand with you," she said, surprised at how strong her voice sounded.

"And I," said a fierce voice to her left. Ami had stood, tears still drying on her face, small fists clenched tightly. She had a deadly kind of grace as she stood there, meeting Venus's gaze with her own steely blue eyes. "This ends now. I've had enough."

Though normally out of character, the phrase sounded eerily fitting coming from the Ice Senshi.

"Me, too," said Lita, making a fist and sending it flying into her other hand. She did not need to say anything more to convey her point.

Venus surveyed them and nodded. "Good. Now, Princess," she said, turning to Serena, "If you could please allow us to regain our memories."

"Now?!" Serena squeaked. She had not been expecting that, and she shifted uncomfortably under Venus's steely gaze.

"Yes. We will take the night to deal with this, and then meet here again at noon tomorrow to plan our attack."

"She's right, Serena," said Luna, speaking up for the first time. She smiled sadly at her young charge. Serena had grown into her power beautifully, but there were still moments when Luna could see the fourteen-year-old girl who had pulled the Band-Aid off of the small cat's forehead. It was refreshing at times, but this was not one of them. "We need to take action before these creatures get any stronger."

"Right," said Serena, sighing. Darien pulled here close and put his arms around her, ready to lend her his power as she used the Silver Crystal to release the Senshi's memories.

Serena closed her eyes in concentration and called forth the Silver Crystal again, feeling its warmth as a soft silver light filled the room.

"And Hotaru?" she asked, looking at Amara and Michelle.

"She remembers everything has it was, Princess. Pluto made sure that she never made her knowledge known, but she has always remembered."

Serena nodded, closing her eyes and channeling her energy into the crystal, willing that their true memories be unlocked. With a soft yell, she held the crystal aloft and its dazzling light filled the room for several minutes. In that time, the floodgate opened and all of the memories that had been kept from them to protect them from the horrors of their untimely ends in the Silver Millennium resurfaced.

By the time the light faded, Rai and Lita had slumped back onto the couch and were looking decidedly worse for the wear. There was no way to hide the tears that were freely falling, and Ami tried wordlessly to comfort both of them at the same time.

Mina stood where she had been, shoulders squared and chin held high, eyes closed and tears streaming down her face. Slowly she opened her eyes and, without looking at any of them in particular, addressed the Senshi. Her voice was slightly hoarse and she had lost some of the steel from her gaze, but the authority still rang true in her voice: "Here. Noon. Don't be late."

With that, she turned on her heel and, without a backward glance, walked out into the late afternoon sunshine that seemed so oddly out of place. It was strange to think that the world outside this room was turning as it always did (thanks to them), unaware that their own worlds had just been completely turned upside down.

"We should be going, also," said Michelle softly, rubbing Amara's knee as she slowly got up and made her way out of the room, making it clear that she did not want to intrude. Amara followed, nodding at Serena and Darien as she left. She had grown up knowing what it was like to be an outsider, and this was one of those times. While their memories were not complete, and this revelation had left them with much to think about, it did not change their fundamental memories from the Silver Millennium. They had been lovers in both lifetimes, and had minimal interaction with Endymion's Generals.

As they walked hand in hand into the sunshine, Amara put on her sleek sunglasses and got out the key to her sports car.

"Maybe _I _should bake something for the meeting tomorrow…"

Michelle chuckled softly. "I think they have enough on their plates without adding food poisoning."

Amara groaned. "That was one time!"

* * *

><p>So, there you have it! Amara [HARUKAHARUKAHARUKA] and Michelle are back, which I'm sure many of you will be happy about!<p>

Also, I'm trying to make sure that each of the Inner Senshi get at least one individual scene every now and then, because they're all so incredible. Lita's up next, along with D Point strategies, so get excited.

Also: So what if I essentially wrote Rai as a firebender. I make no apologies. I imagine she and Iroh would be great friends.

As always, reviews make me smile, and constructive criticism is also much appreciated. Thank you for sticking with me and this story!

-Elle

_Time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start,_

_So dance alone to the beat of your heart._

- _Fall Out Boy, The Phoenix._


	9. CHAPTER EIGHT: Let's Be Alone Together

**REVELATIONS**

**CHAPTER EIGHT: Let's Be Alone Together**

Hi there! This chapter covers the Scouts' reactions to the news that they will have to revive the Generals. There isn't much "action" per se, but I thought the girls needed a little bit of normalcy before the main story arc picks up.

This is my first time writing these girls, and I hope that I am doing their personalities justice. Please let me know what you think!

As always, thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor do I profit from this story.

* * *

><p>Mina let her transformation fade as she walked across the temple grounds. She calmly wiped the tears from her cheeks, and the steely glint left in her eyes was discordant with the glow of the sunshine and the end-of-summer scent carried by the breeze. With a quick glace around to make sure she was as alone as she felt, she leapt gracefully onto the outer wall of the temple. She landed catlike in the shade of one of the huge trees scattered throughout the premises, one knee slightly higher than the other. When she was sure that no one was walking by, she sprang lightly onto the sidewalk below. The only sound she made was that of heels hitting the pavement.<p>

_It was bad enough knowing what had happened in the past. That she had loved him. That she had been betrayed by him. That they she died by his hand. But to bring him back? That was too much._

She berated herself for even thinking like that. If this is what had to be done to save their world – _to do her duty_ – she would do it unblinkingly.

Still the picture of absolute control despite her reeling mind, Mina flicked her sunshine hair over her shoulder and started off down the street. The seemingly carefree act was at odds with the power that seemed to radiate off of her. If anyone had seen her, they would have quickly averted their eyes and scurried out of her path. In fact, as Mina turned the corner and got nearer to the shopping district, several did.

It was only after Mina had walked for over an hour that the control she had been grasping to like a life-raft began to dissipate, allowing the chaotic waves of her thoughts to pull her under. The noise of the city, a noise she usually found calming, and the hundreds of faces around her that usually allowed that beautiful anonymity she so often reveled in, made her feel like she was suffocating. Glancing wildly around, she saw a side street and darted out of the crowd.

Mina saw an alcove, shaded from the now-setting sun, and quickly took refuge. She leaned her back against the wall, arms at her sides, palms pressed against the aide of the building and her face towards the heavens. She allowed herself to close her eyes for a few seconds and willed her world to stop spinning. She needed to get a grip. She needed to take back control. If only she were in control, her training would kick in.

_But he always had a way of making me throw years of training to the wayside…_

No. She would not think of him. _She needed to take back control_, and that meant staying far, far away from thoughts of him. Of what they had.

She would deal with him when she had to. If they succeeded in reviving the generals. But not a second before.

No, she would not think of his warmth, or his twinkling eyes, or the way he could make her feel so, so beautiful. Not because she was stunning, but because she was strong. Something few others recognized.

_No._ She would try to lock the memories back up where they came from, because she had to be in control of the situation. She had let her emotions get the better of her back in the Silver Millenium, and _look how that ended_.

With a bitter laugh, she realized that she sounded exactly like Rai.

Rai.

Rai would know exactly what to say to get everything back in perspective. Rai was caustic and cutting and Mina knew that the emotions Rai was feeling were every bit as raw and as _jagged_ as her own. Rai was possibly just as broken as she was, in a way that Lita and Ami could never be.

Yes, Rai would know exactly what to say.

Now all she had to do was get back to the Temple and pull Rai out of whatever firey rage she was likely in. And something told her that Rai would need her just as much as she needed the priestess.

Some things were worth singing your hair over.

Mina sighed, feeling slightly more in control of the situation now that she had an immediate plan to act on. Now, she just had to get back to the Temple. She hadn't been paying much attention to where she was going, just on keeping the tears at bay.

Looking around, she vaguely knew where she was. Actually, she was not at all far from the university. If she took a shortcut, she could be back at the Temple in twenty minutes.

Slowly, Mina pushed herself off of the wall and began walking down the side street the way she had come. As she turned the corner onto the much busier street, a sign for a nightclub caught her eye.

_Ladies' night – no cover!_

Suddenly, Mina broke out into a grin. She knew _exactly_ how she and Rai were going to deal with this recent turn of events…

Anguish momentarily placed on the backburner, Mina hailed a cab and headed to her apartment to pick up the necessities.

xxxxxxxxxx

"I still can't believe you talked me into this," grumbled Rai, trying half-heartedly to pull down the hem of the bright red tube dress she was wearing.

"Can it, pyro!" Mina called good naturedly from where she was applying mascara at Rai's dresser.

When Mina had arrived at the Temple with two duffle bags full of clothes, makeup, and heels, she had found Rai rapidly going through the fire techniques she had learned during the Silver Millennium. The flames she was using were the largest Mina had ever seen her produce, either during practice or during battle.

Needless to say, Mina had talked her down and somehow – Selene if she knew how – had convinced her to spend the night dancing instead of thinking. Dancing might not lead to anything good, but thinking _most definitely_ would not.

_One last night on the town_, she had said, her smile a bit too bright, her eyes a bit too hard. This is what had convinced Rai to go along with this harebrained plan. Rai knew that Mina needed her. Rai also knew that she needed Mina.

_The dumb blonde_, she thought with affection.

"Why do you even have this dress? Red isn't really your color, no offense…"

"Swiped it from a Sailor V promo a few years back. It was a bit longer then, but not much," Mina said, the side of her mouth sliding into a grin as she gave her lashes a final coat.

Rai rolled her eyes. "You would."

When Mina glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, she was glad to see that Rai was smirking. It was better than nothing.

Rai ran the brush once more through her long, glossy hair and then slid into one black stiletto and one red.

"Hey, pick a shoe," she said, humoring Mina but also knowing that the Goddess of Love wouldn't allow them to leave without doing this, anyway.

"Is that a serious question?" Mina raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the priestess as she put the cap back on her lipstick.

Rai simply rolled her eyes again, twisting around in the mirror to examine the shoes.

"Red, obviously," said Mina, zipping her makeup bag closed and sliding into her own bright orange pumps.

"You don't think they're a bit too much with the dress?"

"Of course they are! But it's you, so it's perfect. Now move out, and that's an order! The cab is waiting!" Mina flashed a bright smile – one that almost reached her eyes – and her trademark V salute before heading out the door.

Rai couldn't help but feel her heart lift a bit as she followed her blonde friend down the Temple steps.

For one night and one night only, they would take the weight of the world off of their shoulders, and the weight of past loves off of their hearts. Rai wasn't sure how the leader of the Senshi had done it, but Mina had somehow helped her to start putting the pieces of her life back in place.

XXXXXXXXXX

Lita was up to her elbows in flour and going downhill fast.

She had arrived back at her apartment in the late afternoon after the Senshi meeting and realized that she had never quite felt so alone in her life.

But if Lita was anything, she was a fighter.

She knew that she had come too far for self-pity. And she had come much too far to wallow.

If there was one thing Lita never did, it was wallow.

And so after wiping the tears from her eyes, she got out her boxing gloves and went to take her frustrations out on the bag in the corner of her living room.

Five minutes in, she was still reeling.

Ten minutes in, she was still feeling sorry for herself.

Fifteen minutes in, she couldn't help think about how un-fucking-fair life was.

Twenty minutes in, she wondered how the others were holding up.

Twenty-five minutes in, she realized she wasn't in this alone.

Thirty minutes in, she remembered she would never be alone again.

That was when she decided she would bake. Well, shower and then bake. She loved those girls too goddamn much to show up without brownies. And fudge. It was no secret that Rai secretly adored her fudge. Especially the kind with the dark chocolate and almonds.

The almonds. The almonds were at the apartment that Ami shared with her mother. Lita had been over on Thursday working on some homework with Ami. She had brought the almonds she had found at a farmers' market as "brain food" and forgot to take them with here.

Without even thinking, she picked up her cell and hit Ami's speed dial icon.

"Hello?" Ami's voice was softer than usual, but Lita didn't let that deter her from getting…

"The almonds."

"What?"

"Sorry, Ami. I spaced out for a minute. I'm going to make some fudge and I need the almonds that I left at your place."

"Wh – oh. I'll bring them tomorrow."

"I was going to make it tonight. I need something to keep me busy, you know? Can I stop by in a bit to grab them?"

Lita heard a defeated sigh at the other end of the line. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Ami knew her well enough to know that this is what the brunette had wanted all along.

"Thank you!" Lita called brightly into the phone, which was currently balanced between her cheek and shoulder as she measured ingredients.

Ami arrived exactly thirteen minutes later, almonds in hand.

XXXXXX

Five hours, two batches of fudge, one batch of brownies, and two batches of cookies later, Lita and Ami were covered in flour and sprawled out on bar stools on opposite sides of Lita's kitchen island.

"I guess we might have gone a bit overboard, huh?" said Lita sheepishly, looking around her kitchen.

Ami laughed as she poured more red wine into each of their glasses. "I don't know, it's going to be a full house, and I have a feeling we're going to need to keep our sugars up."

"Well, then it's a good thing you all keep me around," said Lita. Her voice cracked, betraying the emotions that she thought she had in check. She sighed as she brushed a single tear off of her cheek. It left a trail in the flour. "Sorry, I just –"

"Lita, you know there is nothing to apologize for. I was alone before this, too."

Ami reached across the island and squeezed her friend's hand in understanding. Lita smiled at her, eyes still watery.

"Thanks, Ames. I know I can always count on you. It's just so hard, you know? Remembering the way he looked at me, the way he made me feel… but then the way he betrayed me, betrayed all of us – I don't know if that's something I can forgive. Or if I'd even want to."

"I know," Ami said quietly. "But you know they were brainwashed, don't you?"

"I know, it's just that," Lita sighed, running her hands over her hair, trying to contain the flyaways, "well, how could they let themselves _get_ brainwashed? Did Beryl talk them into it? Is there something we don't know? And how could we not see it coming? Let's face it, Ami. We were so caught up with our own lives that we missed all of the signs. We were… we were the reason the Silver Millennium fell," she finished with a whisper.

"No, Lita. We weren't," Ami replied, voice strong and eyes shining. "_Beryl_ was. Beryl and Metallia and the darkness within them. Yes, we could have been more alert. But we didn't cause anything to happen. _We_ are not the reason it fell."

"You sound like you've already forgiven him."

"I see no reason not to. In all of my memories, Endymion's Generals were unfailingly loyal to him. And he was always faithful to me. An outright betrayal wouldn't make any sense – something must of happened that we don't know about. If Beryl had enough power to overthrow Queen Serenity, surely taking down four Generals wouldn't be a problem. So really, there is nothing to forgive."

"Are you always this logical?" Lita asked, eyes a bit wider than usual as she took in everything Ami had just said.

The bluenette rolled her eyes.

"I am so unappreciated."

At that, they both laughed, and some of the tension seeped out of the room.

Lita sighed. "I'm just so scared to be alone again, Ames. That sense of belonging that I had with him – and then it was just _gone_… Between that and my parents… I'm not sure I can go through it again."

"If I know you, I don't think it will be an issue once you see him again."

At that, Lita snorted.

"You know me too well for my own good."

Ami laughed.

"God, I just can't believe they're going to be back," Lita said. "Just the thought of seeing him again… It's funny, because we never knew what we were missing. And even when we fought Beryl's Generals, I had no idea it was him. Well, not _him_, but you know what I mean. He didn't even look familiar at all. But now that I have my memories – now that I know what we had – I'm not sure if I could ever be happy without that again."

Ami nodded sadly. She felt the exact same way. "Hopefully we won't have to try."

As the clock struck 3 AM, Ami yawned and Lita looked at her sheepishly.

"I'm sorry I kept you here so late."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I figured this was going to be a late night, so I packed a bag."

Lita laughed again, amazed at how prepared Ami always was, and also at how the water senshi could always make her feel better. They really were two kindred spirits.

"Well then, you know the drill," she said, gesturing to the futon in her living room. "I also got cinnamon toothpaste, and I can make us pancakes for breakfast!"

Ami smiled at her friend and shook her head. She was glad that Lita seemed to be bouncing back, and she could only hope that Mina and Rai were faring the same. Although she doubted that they would be so accepting, at least this soon. She knew that they, like Lita, would be blaming themselves for the fall of the Silver Millennium.

But the fact of the matter was that Beryl had simply been too powerful. Even if the Senshi had stood to fight with their Generals, Beryl still would have won. The amount of energy that she and Metallia had gathered at that time was the strongest any of them had ever faced, including Galaxia. Luckily Beryl hadn't been able to amass nearly as much energy when she had resurfaced six years ago.

Hopefully one day they would see that and be at peace with themselves.

Sighing, she grabbed her toothbrush out of her bag and headed to Lita's bathroom.

After spending the better part of the afternoon reasoning out the entire situation and especially after spending the night in Lita's kitchen, she felt more like herself than she had since she regained her memories.

* * *

><p>So, this was just a short chapter to cover how the Scouts are dealing with the news that they are going to have to revive the Generals! I decided to just post this in a separate chapter to get it out sooner. In the next installment, our heroes travel to D Point! Tune in again next time to see what awaits them there.<p>

Also, PLEASE REVIEW!

Love, Elle


	10. CHAPTER NINE: D-Point (Part One)

**REVELATIONS**

**CHAPTER NINE: D-Point (Part One)**

****Hi there, everyone! I hope you enjoy this installment - this is where the main plot really begins to pick up. Comments and criticisms are always welcome. Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor do I profit from this story.

* * *

><p>For once, Serena was awake before her alarm. When the pink monstrosity began to whirl and chime at half past six, she was already in the shower washing the suds out of her long blonde hair.<p>

As she reached for the conditioner, she couldn't help but laugh at how – despite the fact that the world was in danger – she still had to go to her morning lecture.

Something about that struck her as terribly _unfair_.

Grumbling, she ran the conditioner through her endless hair.

I mean, did she _really_ need to learn about the British royal family? They were just stepping in for Darien, really. _Imposters, the lot of them_...

When she couldn't justify standing under the warm water in the safety of her shower any longer, she turned the knobs and rung the excess water out of her hair.

As she stepped out onto her warm, fluffy pink bath mat and reached for her equally warm and fluffy towel, she was again hit by the absurdity of it all. Here she was, complaining about her lecture, when her friends were likely still reeling from finding out that Beryl's Generals had actually been their once (and future?) soulmates, who had turned against them and helped secure the demise of the Silver Millennium and the Princess they had been sworn to protect.

Just the thought of it brought tears into her eyes. These were her best friends. They had already been through so much, in this lifetime and the last. Surely they shouldn't have to reopen these wounds? How could she ask them to do this again?

Her shoulders began to shake as the sense of helplessness that had been her constant companion during the sleepless night returned in full force. Just as she was about to slide down along the wall in momentary defeat, Luna nudged open the bathroom door.

Annoyance was evident in her voice as she reprimanded her charge: "Serena, it seems as though the one day you are actually awake is the day you forget to turn off your alarm. Do you plan on waking up the whole house?"

However, once the cat looked at the state Serena was in, her eyes softened and the guilt trickled out of her tone.

"I would turn it off myself, you see," she added hastily, "but I don't have thumbs and that switch is really quite difficult…" She trailed off as Serena wiped her arm across her eyes and chuckled softly.

"Sorry, Luna. I know you and Artemis were at the Command Center until Selene knows when last night. If anyone deserves some rest, it's you."

The two advisors had been holed up in the command center under the Crowne Arcade for most of the night, reviewing everything that they knew about D-Point from the Scouts' first battle there and doing scans to see if they could detect any energy levels. Serena had pretended to be asleep when Luna jumped tiredly through her window as the sun rose over the city; Luna had pretended not to notice Serena was less than convincing. The two had laid in silence, watching the rising dawn-light slowly move across Serena's ceiling.

At some point, Luna had drifted off and Serena had decided it was a reasonable hour to take a walk around the block. Carefully, so as to not disturb the feline sleeping at the foot of her bed, she slid out from under her covers and slipped on yesterday's jeans, an old, well-loved zip-up sweatshirt, and a pair of tennis shoes.

She crept out of her room, pulling the door closed softly behind her, her feet deftly avoiding the squeaky spots in the floor that she knew like the back of her hand. Her footsteps were feather-light on the steps as she made her way to the door and slipped out onto her front porch. Taking in a deep breath of morning-fresh air, her lips involuntarily curved into a soft smile. As much as she hated waking up early, there was something so distinctly peaceful about the single digit hours.

Before she even realized what she was doing, her feet had carried her to the park. As she walked along the old, familiar paths, past several joggers and through the early morning mist, she saw a familiar dark figure standing at her favorite spot on the bridge.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she smiled again, brighter this time, amazed at the effect he had on her, even after all this time – especially after all this time; how her world seemed to fall into place as soon as she saw him.

Seeming to sense her presence, he straightened up from where he had been hunched, leaning against the railing, coffee in hand.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, turning to face her. His voice was rough – those were likely the first words he had spoken today – and his arms were open. She gratefully sunk into them, holding him close to her and inhaling his sent of chocolate and roses and coffee and old books. He always made her feel that they could face whatever was coming, as long as they faced it together.

Which was good, because that was exactly what they needed to do.

"Not a wink," she said into his chest, voice, muffled.

He half laughed, half sighed. "I figured as much."

She stepped back slightly so that she could see his face. He looked so handsome and downright _regal_ with the soft breeze ruffling his hair and the sun breaking through the mist behind him. No, the British monarchy whose portraits graced her textbook didn't hold a candle to the true Prince of Earth.

"Now don't go getting ahead of yourself. I've heard Henry the Eighth was quite a looker."

She punched his shoulder, but couldn't help but smile as he looked down at her with the goofy sideways grin he reserved especially for her.

Every now and then, she was still struck by how much he had opened up since she had met him almost seven years ago. If her fourteen-year-old self could see this Darien, she was almost sure that girl would have a mild heart attack.

"Aren't you like his second cousin, nine times removed or something like that?" she teased.

At that, he made a face. "I honestly have no idea… Who knows what happened after Earth fell? There were still people, but I'm sure Beryl would have tried to wipe out my uncles."

"I've never heard you talk about them before…" Serena trailed off. She didn't remember Endymion even _having _uncles, but now that he mentioned it, several faces flickered in her mind's eye.

"I've been remembering a lot more now since – you know…" he trailed off. The memories he had of Serenity and Seiya were still a tough subject and made him feel extremely uncomfortable, even though he knew now that it was idiotic for him to ever doubt Serena. "But, my father was the oldest of five. He had three brothers and a sister, and they all had children. I'm sure some of them were able to survive – not all of them lived at the Palace."

"Well, maybe that's what I can write my term paper about," said Serena playfully, trying to lighten the subject.

Darien smirked. "I don't think it would do well for the future queen of the world to fail out of university."

"Hey now! I'm doing really well, mister big shot doctor!"

He leaned down and kissed her lightly. "I know you are. But it's almost six. You need to go get ready if you're going to make it to your lecture on time."

_Damn him for always being so organized._

"You're welcome," he said, chuckling at her thoughts.

"I'll meet you after, by the benches?"

He nodded and pulled her in for another kiss before she walked away. "Good luck."

"I don't need luck when I have skill!" she laughed, turning back to look at him. Not watching where she was going, she tripped over the edge of the bridge, but managed to catch herself before she fell.

She grumbled as he tried to hold back a laugh.

Now, as she stepped over her discarded jeans to turn the alarm clock off, she tried to hold on to the happy feeling of just _being with_ Darien. Just Serena and Darien, high school sweethearts trying to get through university. Not Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, trying to save the world, or Serenity and Endymion, trying to rule over a planet.

She hoped that they would get more moments like that in the future – just the simple joy of being together. Despite knowing the future, they had promised each other that they would just let their lives play out normally until whatever event triggered the rise of Crystal Tokyo. So he was doing his residency at the hospital and she was getting her degree in sociology and would hopefully get a job as a reporter after university.

And then they would get married. She knew that they would. But she didn't know when or how and that was perfectly fine with her. After knowing so much about her future, a little mystery was a welcome change.

_But why didn't you see the Generals when you were in the future?_

She brushed the thought away, although it had been nagging her constantly. She was sure they had just been – well, been what? Busy? Doing what? They weren't at the Senshi's sides where the belonged, that was for sure.

She would really need to ask Trista…

But first, she had a lecture to get to and a planet to save.

xxxxxxxxxx

Rai grumbled as tinny, upbeat techno music cut through the peaceful stillness of her room.

Maybe if she ignored it, it would simply go away.

The tune began again, playing on a loop.

"Mina, shut that damn thing off!"

The blonde didn't stir.

Rai threw a pillow at the mass of blonde hair asleep on the futon across the room.

"Mina!"

"Wh-what?!" yelped the blonde goddess, springing up off of the futon and into a fighting stance. Her sleep-glazed eyes scanned the room as she tried to take in her surroundings, but all she saw was Rai grumbling and pulling the covers over her head.

"Your alarm, dumbass. It's five in the morning! Why do you even have it set so early?!" came her muffled reply.

"What?" Mina blinked slowly at Rai, her fists still tightened, prepared for an onslaught.

Rai grumbled something that sounded distinctly like "dumb blonde" and then threw the covers off of her head and fixed Mina with a glare that would have sent a weaker person running. "Chill out! The only impending doom is ME if you don't turn that thing off!"

"Huh? …oh," Mina slowly relaxed, realizing how stiff she was, as she walked over to Rai's end table and rummaged around to find her mobile, tripping over last night's heels in the process. She flipped it open and, with an exaggerated yawn, hit a few buttons until the alarm stopped.

The blonde warrior rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Hey, Rai, since we're up, want to go and grab breakfast? I bet Andrew has everything opened by now!" she called cheerily to the pile of covers on Rai's bed.

Mina didn't even wait for an answer; instead, she headed straight into Rai's bathroom to get ready for the day. As she passed the bed, she couldn't help but hear Rai grumbling about _goddamn morning people_ and felt a rush of affection for her sister-in-arms.

Last night had been exactly what she had needed; now, she felt refreshed and had strength to take on the day. Because that's what she always did.

Her smile only faltered slightly when she looked at herself in the mirror.

By the time Mina came out of the bathroom, towel-clad, Rai was stamping her foot, impatient.

Mina simply raised an eyebrow at her. "You act like you're never awake at dawn."

"Shut up. Just because I'm _awake_ at dawn doesn't mean I'm _friendly_ at dawn," the priestess growled.

Mina snorted as Rai slammed the bathroom door in the blonde's face.

By the time they had got ready and gone to the Arcade for breakfast, they had decided to blow off their morning classes in favor of sparring at the Temple. Both girls had excess energy to burn, and the thought of sitting in a confined space, listening to back-to-back lectures didn't appeal to either of them.

That, and the idea of going to class in the morning when they very well could be up to their knees in nega-trash by dusk seemed a bit silly.

Ami and Lita arrived shortly after Mina and Rai's match to find them both sitting in the shade, breathing slightly heavily.

"We brought lunch!" called Ami when they got to the foot of the steps.

Rai and Mina looked down to see their fellow Senshi holding several coolers.

"And lemonade!" added Lita, holding up the smaller cooler she was carrying.

Mina let out a cheer while Rai stood up to hold the door open for them.

The four soldiers filed inside and put an unprecedented effort into getting everything spread out. It seemed as though they had all, in their own ways, realized the danger in sitting idle. Still hands led to tumultuous thoughts, and that was something the four were actively trying to avoid.

However, there was only so much that could be done, and the four were soon sitting around the table, looking at each other.

"So, is this what you two did last night?" asked Mina, indicating the mountain of food on the table.

"Yupp," said Lita, looking unphased.

Mina looked at her, slightly incredulous. "You made all of this in one night?!"

"And this morning," added Ami with a shrug.

Rai raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "This is enough food to feed an army!"

Lita looked away and snorted back a bitter laugh. "Isn't that what we are?"

No one had an answer to that. The four seemed to slump from the weight of being brought back to reality. It wasn't as if the weight of the knowledge of what they were about to do had ever shifted from their minds, but it was another thing to have it put so blatantly out in the open again. And so they sat, lost in their own thoughts and memories until the others arrived several minutes later.

XXXXXXXXXX

Serena and Darien sat next to each other on the love-seat near the table. Michelle was perched at the end of the recliner; Amara sat on the arm, her own arms folded across her chest.

Trista and Hotaru were the last to arrive – the Guardian of Time had picked up the Senshi of Destruction at her boarding school in Ireland moments before they teleported to the Temple. Serena had alerted them earlier about everything that was going on (as if Trista hadn't already known) and that the group would likely be returning to D-Point that afternoon. Trista had informed her Princess that she was already in route to Kylemore to fetch Hotaru.

As if Hotaru needed fetching. But, school policy required students to be checked out by a pre-approved adult, and who was the Guardian of Time to trifle with the Headmistress?

Serena had simply rolled her eyes, both grateful for and exasperated by Trista's seeming omnipotence, and asked Trista if it would ever be possible to throw her a surprise party. Trista had told the blonde that it would only be a surprise if she guessed her age correctly. Serena had replied that she didn't look a day over nine hundred and forty-two. Trista had groaned.

Now, both Trista and Hotaru sat on the sofa, with Artemis and Luna on the floor by their feet.

"I think it's time we called this meeting to order," began Luna. "Venus, you called this meeting. Would you like to begin?"

Mina nodded and stood up slowly, back rigid, eyes like blue steel. She looked around the room to meet the gazes of her comrades, who had turned their attention to her. Even the Outers were looking at her with attention and respect – something that she would have at one time thought as likely to occur as Serena acing a calculus final.

"Let's cut right to the chase," she began. "We know very little about this new enemy except that they're coming at us hard and they're coming at us from D-Point. We also know that the last encounters that we've had with our… with _them _have been at D-Point."

Here, Mina paused for a moment and closed her eyes to collect herself before once again turning her intent gaze back to the troops assembled before her. "I know most of you have already thought about what I'm going to propose, so let's just put it to a vote. All in favor of doing a scouting mission to D-Point to get some information about what we're up against?"

"Count me in," said Amara from her perch on the chair.

"And me, as well," chimed Michelle, reaching up to squeeze Amara's arm.

"Any information we get could be very beneficial," said Ami, casting her vote.

"I'm in!" said Lita gruffly. "It sure beats sitting around and doing nothing."

Rai rolled her eyes and frowned, not liking where this was headed but knowing it was inevitable and that she was vastly outnumbered. "Let's get this over with," she grumbled.

"Well," said Hotaru, "it was this or chemistry, so bring on D-Point." At this, Serena giggled.

Trista simply smiled and gave Mina a slight nod.

"Well, there you have it," said Mina, turning to Serena and Darian. "Ultimately, we defer to your judgment."

"When have you ever deferred to my judgment?" grumbled Serena in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Mina gave her a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but said nothing.

Darien squeezed Serena's hand and smiled at her before meeting Mina's determined gaze with his own. "I think D-Point is our best option at this point. We can get some clues about the enemy and begin our scavenger hunt for the Generals."

Mina flinched slightly at the mention of them, but otherwise remained unmoving as she next turned her gaze to Serena.

"I agree. If we're going to find out anything about this enemy, we need to figure out what these Youma are after, other than us. _If_ they're after anything but us. And if we need the Generals in order to get the Golden Crystal - well, D-Point is probably the best place to start looking for them, too."

Mina nodded. "So it's settled then."

"But," added Serena, looking around meaningfully at all of them, "we already know that we won't be strong enough to defeat whatever it is we're up against _without_ the Golden Crystal. So, we have to make sure that we stay under the radar as much as possible. And if there's any sign of trouble, we need to be able to get out of there at a moment's notice. So, no picking fights, you hear?"

At the end, she was decidedly looking at Rai, who blushed slightly and looked down at the table, grumbling something unintelligible.

"Serena's right, everyone," added Artemis. "We need to try to stay undetected as much as possible and only engage the enemy if absolutely necessary."

"Quite right," said Luna, looking about the room. "We must be certain to not get in over our heads – which we all know you have a habit of doing." At this point, she, too, was looking directly at Rai, who diplomatically pretended not to notice.

The Senshi nodded their agreement, adrenaline beginning to race like fire through their veins. The Inners were all dreading what was to come, yet itching to get started now that they knew what duty demanded of them.

"Well," said Mina, commanding their attention once again. "That settles it. Let's suit up. Venus Star Power, Make-Up!" She raised her henshin wand in the air and was embraced by dazzling colors, power swirling at her fingertips.

The others followed suit and, after a few moments of brilliant colors and air sizzling with power, the Sailor Senshi stood, ready for battle.

"Mercury, do you have the coordinates?" asked Sailor Venus, radiating a power that was equal part wild and precise.

Sailor Mercury had already pulled up her small Mercury Computer to triple check the coordinates that were already seared into her mind. The past night after Lita had finally drifted off into a restless not-quite-sleep, she had spent a few hours pouring over all of the information she had already committed to memory.

"I'm ready when you are."

"Sailor Teleport?" asked Sailor Moon, already moving to join hands with Tuxedo Mask on her right and Rai on her left.

The others nodded and moved into position. They stood in a circle, hands joined, with Luna and Artemis standing in the middle.

"On three," said Venus, giving the countdown.

Three, two, one, and they were gone. In the Temple grounds, a small girl holding onto her mother's hand had been looking at the larger back building when a brilliant white light flashed, overpowering the afternoon sun. The girl's eyes grew wide as she tugged on her mother's arm, pleading with her to look, but in the blink of an eye the light was gone and there were simply the sunshine and the chirping birds and the soft autumn breeze. And an unwitting world on the brink.

xxxxxxxxxx

Seconds later, the same light scintillated across the Arctic landscape outside of the cavern entrance. Nine resplendent warriors, an intrepid prince, and two faithful advisors now stood where moments before there had been nothing but snowdrifts.

The company took a moment to take in the jarringly familiar desolation surrounding them. Sailor Moon instinctively moved closer to Tuxedo Mask, who drew her warmth to him like a lifeline.

"Alright everyone, let's move out," said Sailor Venus, looking around at the group assembled before her, wondering what state they would be in when – _if_ – they returned to Tokyo. "Remember, be silent and stay alert. We're here go get leads on this enemy and them, not to jumpstart World War III."

The others nodded and moved into position, with Venus and Mars leading, followed on either side by Mercury and Jupiter, forming a protective ring around Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Luna, and Artemis. Next followed Pluto and Saturn; Uranus and Neptune brought up the rear.

The only sound came from the howl of the polar wind, which all but drowned out their quiet but firm footfalls. As the tunnel wound lower and lower into the ground, the wind slowly fell behind them. Rai called forth her inner fire to light their path; however, the Senshi saw no signs of current habitation.

The lack of _anything_ was making the entire group decidedly uneasy. As the sound of the howling polar wind faded completely, the only noise was the echoes of their falling footsteps crunching through the ice and snow on the cavern's floor. Eventually, even the ice and snow disappeared and they found themselves walking through a tunnel that seemed to have been carved directly into dark gray rock – the same tunnel that Sailor Moon had walked by herself all those years ago.

"Are we sure we're going the right way?" asked Sailor Jupiter, looking around at the _nothingness_.

"I'm sure," said Sailor Moon, her tone leaving nothing open for debate. Yes, she remembered this path all too well. "I can't remember when we'll hit the cavern, but this will bring us out in Beryl's antechamber."

Jupiter looked at Serena for a moment, startled, but then what her Princess had said sunk in. She hadn't put any thought into what it would be like for Serena, coming back here to the place she had been killed – only her own selfish fears.

She edged closer to Sailor Moon and gave her white-gloved hand a firm squeeze. Sailor Moon squeezed back and gave her friend a small smile.

"Don't go getting all soft on me," she said, now smirking.

"I would never," replied Sailor Jupiter, with a soft laugh. She gave Sailor Moon's hand a final squeeze and then resumed her position.

After they had been walking for what could easily have been a mile or ten – it was difficult to keep track of time and distance in the unchanging nothingness of the cavern walls – the group began to see signs of long-past scuffles, relic ruins from a long-past ear of different Youma roaming in the cavern. Still, Mercury's scans revealed nothing – no energy signatures, no signs of life.

Above and beyond the Mercury computer, none of them could _sense_ any evil, even this far underground. Either the new enemy was completely masking its energy signature, or they were missing something crucial. Both possibilities were equally unnerving.

Eventually, the cavern stopped sloping downward at such a drastic angle. Then it stopped sloping downward at all. This is how they realized they were getting close.

And then there was the sharp bend to the left that had haunted Serena in her dreams for months after waking up in her own bed after defeating Beryl. After she had died. After she had no memory of being Sailor Moon. She would wake in a cold sweat with her heart racing after dreaming about walking around that bend, head held high, blood running down her arms and tears still drying on her face, in a beautiful costume that she could never quite remember. But she could remember the sense of power she felt, and the wild determination, and the deep, deep sadness that made her ache to her core.

And as she lay in bed, willing her breathing to return to normal and wondered where this dream kept coming from and how she would ever extricate that deep sorrow that felt like it so belonged in her heart, she would sometimes catch Luna, the stray cat she had rescued, looking up at her from the foot of the bed, with worry in her eyes, looking for all the world like she wanted to say something but couldn't. But that was silly because cats can't talk.

And now, here she was again. Rounding the bend that would lead them to Beryl's antechamber and then the great cavern where the Black Queen held court and held Serena's world in her hands and forced him to turn on her. But this time she was not alone and this time she knew just how powerful she was. She knew what it was like to kill, but more importantly she knew that even with her back against the ropes her first instinct was always to heal.

She knew what the power of the Silver Millennium felt like, singing in her veins and calling her home to a past that this monster had destroyed with blood and rage and fire and bitterness. A past that Beryl had made impossible; a future that Serena wouldn't let her touch.

And so with steely determination, Sailor Moon took hold of Tuxedo Mask's hand and led him to the front of the group, passing Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars with a nod and rounding the corner that had haunted her past, with her future at her side and power singing in her veins. They could do this. They _would_ do this.

She took a deep breath and stepped around the corner. There it was, just as she remembered it. The tunnel-path they had been following suddenly opened up into a monstrous cavern with black and white marble floors laid out like a giant chessboard.

She strode purposefully across the antechamber, not bothering to wait for Mercury to scan the area. Through the Silver Crystal's power, she could tell that there was nothing lurking in the shadows. She didn't bother to wait for the others – the sound of her heels on the dusty marble was the only thing she could hear above her heartbeat. The important thing was that she could still feel Tuxedo Mask's warm hand gripping hers.

She crossed the cavern in minutes, stopping only at the colossal doors at the opposite end. The doors that would lead directly to Beryl's throne room.

The others had caught up to her by then, and looked at her with slightly annoyed but more certainly terrified faces.

"Sailor Moon, what are you doing? Are you trying to get us killed?" hissed Sailor Venus.

"She's right, you know," said Sailor Mercury, blue visor not obstructing the glare she was giving Sailor Moon. "I know that you might be able to sense that it's safe, but it takes me some time to do a scan. If you don't say anything, how are we supposed to know that you're not just being reckless?"

Sailor Moon knew that what they were saying was true, but she couldn't stop. She couldn't stop or the reality of what they were doing would hit her and she wasn't prepared for what would happen then. All she knew was the power in her veins and the heartbeat in her ears.

She would be fine with that to guide her. After all, it always worked in the past.

"You're supposed to trust me," she said, not even pausing to look at her Senshi as she pulled her hand out of Tuxedo Mask's grasp and threw open the doors to Beryl's throne room.

"Sailor Moon, wait - " yelled Tuxedo Mask, trying to pull her back to him and prevent her from going inside. He could tell from her thoughts that she couldn't sense anything dangerous inside, but he also knew that at this point Mercury was right – she was acting too recklessly. But he was a split second too late.

Sailor Moon stepped into the darkness and an earth-shattering crack echoed through the cavern. A scream tore from her lips as the world fell out from under her.

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><p>Sooooo, how about that cliffhanger? Literally.<p>

Please review! =]


	11. CHAPTER TEN: D-Point (Part Two)

**REVELATIONS**

**CHAPTER TEN: D-Point (Part Two)**

Without further delay – the next chapter! Thank you for reading! I posted this as quickly as I could, so I apologize for any typos towards the end. If you catch one, please let me know.

Also, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I haven't been getting as many reviews lately, and all of you made me so, so happy! =]

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor do I profit from this story.

* * *

><p><em>"Sailor Moon, wait - " yelled Tuxedo Mask, trying to pull her back to him and prevent her from going inside. He could tell from her thoughts that she couldn't sense anything dangerous inside, but he also knew that at this point Mercury was right – she was acting too recklessly. But he was a split second too late.<em>

_Sailor Moon stepped into the darkness and an earth-shattering crack echoed through the cavern. A scream tore from her lips as the world fell out from under her._

"Sailor Moon!" yelled Tuxedo Mask, his voice echoing into the darkness. Sailor Mars was next to him in a split second, bringing with her fire to light the scene.

As the golden glow illuminated the entrance to the massive cavern, the Senshi gathered close to see the fate of their Princess.

"Fuck," swore Tuxedo Mask under his breath as the shock wore off and a cold panic began to set in. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

Mars's fire had revealed a massive, gaping hole in the floor of the throne room. The hole was so large that it appeared to extend at least a third of the way into the room, and the group could just make out the jagged edge of the intact floor in the flickering light of Mars's flame.

"What the hell?" breathed Mars, staring at the gaping hole in something akin to awe.

Furiously clicking shut her handheld computer, Mercury said, "It's ice! The floor is ice and it cracked."

"Sailor Moon, can you hear me?" yelled Tuxedo Mask. "Dammit, Serena, answer me!"

Feeling through his link, he could tell that she was still alive and she didn't appear to be in severe pain – but she also was unconscious, so he couldn't discern the extent of her injuries.

"That's it, I'm going down," said Venus, stepping to the edge and preparing to jump in after her Princess.

"Right behind you," said Uranus, who had come to the front of the group.

Tuxedo Mask, oblivious to the rest of the group in his urgency and concentrating only on Serena's strong and steady pulse through their link, roughly brushed them both out of his way. He took a split second to look over the edge – it wouldn't help Serna any if he impaled on a stalagmite on the way down – and Mars, understanding what he was doing, brought her flame even closer.

What they saw was better than they had expected: the sheet of ice closest to them hadn't shattered, but rather cracked and fallen, leaving an inclined slide directly below them.

A split second later, Tuxedo Mask was leaping down onto it, Mars at his right hand bringing the flames, and Venus, Uranus, and the others right behind them.

He landed with his knees slightly bent, one arm between them and the other thrown out behind him for balance. As he began to slide down the icy incline, he straightened up slightly. A memory of a weekend snowboarding trip that Andrew had talked him into going on in high school flashed in his mind, and he had only a second to think about the irony before the incline suddenly stopped and he was free falling.

Luckily, he didn't have far to fall and somehow managed to land gracefully on the stone floor of whatever room was under the throne room. Half a beat later, he registered the clack of Mars's heels as she, too, landed with feline grace on the frozen stone. Mars's fire illuminated their new surroundings and his eyes wildly swept the room; he saw Sailor Moon sprawled out a bit to his left.

She was laying on her stomach, slightly turned to one side and legs slightly bent. One arm was under her head – which he was happy to see – and her golden hair was trailed out behind her, gleaming in the flickering firelight.

He could see the steady rise and fall of her chest, and breathed a small sigh of relief as he hurried to her side. The Senshi were right behind him, quickly moving into defensive positions around their Princess, but gave him space when he knelt down next to her and oh so lightly brushed the hair out of her eyes and cupped her face, waiting for Mercury to finish her scan before he moved her.

Through their link, he didn't sense that anything was broken – but as a medical student, he knew the dangerous repercussions of moving someone who was injured.

He was flooded with relief when she seemed to turn into his touch, nuzzling her face against his palm with a contented sigh.

"Sere, can you hear me?" he asked, willing her to wake up.

"She should be fine and waking up any minute," said Mercury, relief evident in her voice. "She bumped her head, but her arm took the brunt of the fall. She'll have some bruising and soreness, but that's it. She was lucky."

The group collectively let out their breaths in relief and Mercury turned to scan the rest of their surroundings. Mars set her jaw and let the glow of her fire intensify so that the room was bathed in soft light. The flickering shadows looked sinister and Mars had no doubt that they were.

"C'mon, Serena, you have to wake up," said Tuxedo Mask, who hadn't taken his eyes off of the blonde in his arms. He knew that Mercury said she would be just fine, but it wouldn't be good enough until he saw it for himself. They had been through far too much for her to be killed by something as trivial as gravity.

"Meatball Head, you better wake up and help us get out of this mess you got us into. If you die, I'll bring you back and kill you myself for being so fucking _stupid_. Can't you shake her or something?" Sailor Mars' anger was slipping through the cracks, and she found herself getting more and more furious as she looked at the helpless blonde in Tuxedo Mask's arms.

"Mars, now isn't the time," said Venus, trying to intervene before Mars' temper got the better of the fire Senshi and there was no turning back.

"It's absolutely the time! What the hell was she thinking? Why does she get to be so damn _selfish_?! I mean if she goes and gets herself killed because of her own stupidity, who else is going to save the world? It's not like we can do it without her."

"Mars - " Cold authority was now in Venus' voice, but Mars' fire quickly swallowed it whole.

"Yeah, she died here. I get it," said Mars, eyes blazing. "But we died, too. We died and the snow covered our bodies before she even got this far and we're not going – going _cliff diving_ or whatever the hell she just did. She needs to stop thinking of only herself. If not for her, or for Darien, or even for Rini, then for the fucking universe because she's our only hope and she would do well to _start acting like it_."

"Mars, shut up, that's an order - "

"No. Not this time. I died here and I died on the moon and now I have to bring back the man who killed me while she goes running off to get herself killed by her own stupidity and then it's all for nothing and I will not - "

"Rai, shut up." This time it was Tuxedo Mask who spoke. His eyes were dark as he stared her down. Mars defiantly met his gaze, but couldn't maintain it. With a shuddering sigh, she lowered her eyes and shifted her feet, trying to regain the feeling that the subzero temperatures had taken away.

"No, she's right," said a quiet voice from below him.

"Serena, you're awake," he breathed in relief, pulling her close to him and reveling in the scent of her hair and the fact that she was whole and so, so thankfully unbroken.

She wrapped her arms around him and took comfort in his warmth for a moment before pushing him gently away and pulling herself slowly to her feet.

"Mars is right. What I did was stupid and selfish. I'm sorry, everyone." She looked up through her lashes at the group assembled in front of her, feeling an incredible sense of guilt at the truth in Rai's words.

She _had_ been selfish. In the midst of her own turmoil at entering the place where she had died – where she had been killed by her own raw power – she forgot for a moment what her Senshi were going through.

Not only had they died here also, but they were trying to bring back those who had killed them the first time around.

_How could she_.

Now that Mars had gotten her outburst out of the way, she couldn't stand the look on her friend's face. Walking over to her Princess, Mars pulled her into a tight hug.

"_So_ stupid. Don't let it happen again."

Sailor Moon hugged her back tightly. "I'm sorry, Rai," she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

Sailor Mars simply gave her a final squeeze before stepping back and turning to the rest of the group, also slightly embarrassed about losing her temper.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's do what we came here to do."

Venus gave her friend a sad smile before turning to the rest of the group. "Alright, so this is as good a place as any to start. We're either going to have to stick together or find something that'll burn for a long time. I don't want anyone getting lost in the dark. I don't see anything here, so it looks like we're together for now.

Venus met Jupiter's eyes and the taller girl nodded at her.

"We're going to have to go room by room. We don't really know what we're looking for, but anything that has an energy signature or looks like it's been used recently could be a lead.

"Mercury, have you picked up anything on your scans?"

Sailor Mercury nodded as she looked at her leader through her blue visor. "Because of the ice, I can only scan our immediate surroundings. I don't see anything in the rooms around us, but we're going to have to be extremely careful. It would be very easy for someone or something to sneak up on us, and we have no idea what to expect.

"It's also going to be easy to get lost. I'm going to track our movements back to this room, but it's a long way up. If at all possible, we need to look for another way out, or a clear area to teleport from."

At this, the group looked up. Mars' fire only illuminated so much, and from where they were standing, they couldn't make out the throne room ceiling. It could have been miles above them – for all they knew it was.

Looking around, Jupiter knew Mercury was being optimistic. She didn't see how they could possibly make it back up the way they had come without rock climbing equipment or wings. Sure, they could just teleport back to the Temple – but that required time and concentration. If an enemy was barreling down on them, that wasn't really much of an escape plan…

Mercury had begun addressing the group again. "…I'm getting a few broad energy signatures beneath us, but they're faint. They could very well be energy that is still fading from Beryl. From this level, it's impossible to tell."

Venus nodded. "Alright, let's move out. Remember, be careful, and if you have any strange feelings about _anything_, bring it up. Let's be thorough so we don't have to ever do this again…"

With that, she started off towards the door of the room they were in, heels clacking on the frozen stone.

_Can stone even freeze?_ She thought as she waited for Mars to light the way.

_Who the hell knows. After this, I swear we're going to the beach. Somewhere warm. Warm would be nice…_

Shaking off her thoughts, she called forth her Love-Me Chain and pushed the door open. Even though Mercury's scan hadn't picked up anything, her nerves were on edge, and it would be much, much better to be over prepared than under.

The next room they entered was drastically smaller than the first. Where the first had been empty, this one looked more like a living room or an antechamber. There were lamps on the walls and several tapestries also hung there, swirls of blues and silvers and grays. There was a fireplace with two navy leather armchairs in front of it and what appeared to be a wooden desk in the shadows along the far wall.

Looking at the desk, Mercury felt a pang of familiarity that she couldn't place, but she shook it off. When had she ever been here before? That was just silly…

As the group moved inside, Mercury noticed a bookshelf to the right of the door they had entered through. Curious, she walked over and plucked a frozen, leather-bound volume off of the shelf. As she held the small book, she was struck with an overwhelming sense of familiarity. Glancing at the title, she drew in a sharp breath and stiffened.

"_So, what did you think?" Zoicite asked._

"_Excuse me?" Said Ami, turning to face him._

_He blushed again. "Of this," he said, reaching over and nimbly plucking the book from her grasp. He flipped through a few pages and continued, "I saw that you finished it, and I actually just read it myself last week. So, what did you think?"_

Of all the books, of course it would be this one. Fate certainly has a way of being cruel.

Hands trembling, she gently opened the book, careful to not ruin its almost-frosted pages. She wasn't sure if she was hoping for or dreading the sight of his small, neat handwriting in the margins, but when she saw it, an acute feeling of homesickness washed over her and the sound of her frantic heartbeat was loud in her ears.

She clutched the book to her chest as she looked around the room with new eyes. This must have been part of his rooms. She blushed as she looked at the tapestries again, noticing that they were the same color of her blue Senshi uniform and the dress she had been wearing on the day when they first met.

But that wasn't him. This isn't him. Why is his book here? Why did that monster have his things?

She felt cold fury begin to seep into her veins as she thought about the monster that had possessed her Zoicite. It and Beryl had probably laughed as they moved Zoicite's things into this room to keep up with the sick fantasy that that bitch had created. When she thought she could brainwash Endymion and his Generals into playing house with her. Bile filled Mercury's throat and she felt sick at the thought of it.

"Mercury, are you picking anything else up?" asked Jupiter from across the room. They rest of the Senshi were looking carefully around the room, but they didn't appear to be finding anything.

She carefully slipped the book into her subspace pocket and clicked her visor closed.

"No, my computer isn't picking anything up, but if there's anything important in here, I know where it would be."

"What? How?"

"Because these are Zoi's things."

The shortened name rolled off of her lips without her even realizing it – as if it hadn't been several millennia since she had last used it.

A shocked silence fell as she crossed the room, heading straight for Zoicite's desk. Mars eventually shook off the shock and followed the blue haired Senshi to provide light.

Mercury pulled out the chair and sat down like she belonged there. In a past life she had. Without hesitating, she pulled open the third drawer on the right. Mars slumped in disappointment when she saw it was empty, but Mercury wasn't fazed.

Adroitly, the Ice Senshi ran her gloved hand over the drawer's wooden bottom until she found that spot she was looking for. She pushed down gently and it popped open, as if it were spring-loaded. Mars realized that it probably was, and she held her breath as Mercury gently lifted the front of the drawer's false bottom on a hidden hinge. Once she was finished, she carefully removed a small stack of neatly arranged papers.

She quickly read over the first page before flipping through the rest of the documents.

"Here it is," she said, delicately removing a page from near the middle of the pile.

The Senshi watched as she unfolded the page to reveal what appeared to be a map.

"What is that?" said Sailor Moon, moving in close to stand next to her friend.

"It's a map of D-Point. Zoi was always making maps, even of the Terran palace," she said, turning to Tuxedo Mask with a sad smile.

"I remember," he said, attempting to return her smile. Seeing the map and his General's handwriting had brought back a new flood of memories. He hadn't realized quite how lonely he was without the Generals – without his friends – but he would certainly be happy to have them back, no matter how selfish that was.

It would be nice to have friends again. True, Andrew was like his brother, but Darien had never felt as though he fully belonged in this world, even with Andrew's friendship. Now he knew why.

Sailor Moon picked up on his thoughts and squeezed his hand for comfort.

"What do you mean, a map of D-Point?" said Uranus, who had also moved closer to see the paper.

"Look," said Mercury, pointing to a neatly labeled square – "Sitting Room – Zoicite" - to the far left of what appeared to be one of four floors. "This is where we are. Where we crashed was his antechamber. And this hallway," she said, moving her finger across the page to indicate the way they had just came, "should lead to the rest of the General's quarters…"

Mars stopped listening to anything but her pounding heart. She didn't want to go anywhere near his quarters.

She wasn't ready for this.

The fire flickered in her hand as her heart raced and she began to feel so, so dizzy, as if she couldn't get enough air.

As she truly began to panic at the overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, Mina reached over and squeezed her arm.

"I've already decided that when this is over, we're going to the beach," Mina whispered.

Rai didn't thank the universe for Mina nearly enough as she should.

"All-inclusive?" Rai asked with a small, grateful smile.

"Absolutely. And cabana boys."

Rai tried to snort quietly, but she didn't quite pull it off. Uranus looked at the two and raised an eyebrow in disapproval.

Mina smiled and Rai rolled her eyes, stifling another laugh as she turned her attention back to Sailor Mercury.

"…so if we go down this hallway, we should eventually come to the Treasure Room. I think that sounds like our best bet right now. If there's anything valuable, it's sure to be in there."

"Sounds like a great plan – only there's a ten foot thick sheet of ice blocking the entrance to the hallway…" said Jupiter, sounding slightly worried.

Mercury somehow managed to make rolling her eyes look dainty. "Rai, can you bring the fire out here?"

With that, Sailor Mercury led the way back through the doorway they had come through. Channeling her element, she willed the ice to bend to her will as she had been taught to do in the Silver Millennium.

"Well, I guess we don't have to look for another way out," said Jupiter under her breath. "Mercury can just make us some stairs."

The rest looked on with awe as Sailor Mercury turned the ice to water and gathered it in a large orb above their heads. It hung there, growing steadily larger and glistening in the light from Mars' fire, until Mercury uncovered the door that she had been looking for.

With a flick of her wrist, Mercury directed the water to form a new wall of ice, sealing off the rest of Zoicite's quarters. She couldn't explain why she felt the urge to protect his things, but she hoped that someday, when this was all over, she could come back here with him – the real him - and salvage some things from their old life.

Dreams were nice things to have.

They could also be dangerous. Deep down, she knew that the hope building in her chest had the acute ability to destroy her forever, something all of the evils in the universe had not yet been able to do.

Yes, dreams could be dangerous.

She brushed those thoughts aside as she flipped open her computer with one hand; in her other, she gingerly held Zoicite's map.

But it's not really Zoi's map – that monster made it. She'd be damned if she knew how, but that monster had made it, had accessed her dead lover's memories and taken on his idiosyncrasies.

It must have been Beryl - Beryl and her sick, twisted charade.

Again, Mercury swallowed down the bile and scanned the corridor for enemies.

Not detecting any energy, she heaved the door open. She couldn't see anything but the pitch darkness and the outline of the door; then, Mars was next to her, lighting the way again.

The corridor was all stone – floor, walls, and ceiling. Stands on the walls held long dormant torches. Mars, however, didn't waste any time in lighting those nearest to the group and passing them around. With more light, they could cover ground more quickly.

"Alright, where are we headed?" asked Jupiter, turning to Mercury to guide them.

The blue-haired Senshi, who had been consulting the map again, began walking to the right.

"This way. This hall is going to loop around and connect with another that looks like the major highway through this place. From there, we're fairly close to the Treasure Room."

The walked down the corridor in silence, alert for any noises apart from their own shallow breathing and footfalls on the frozen ground.

The corridor twisted around and opened into a wider hallway, still made completely out of stone. The Senshi passed dark mahogany doors, and sometimes Mercury would note what was behind them.

There were three doors that she decidedly ignored. For that, they were all thankful.

Every so often, the group stopped to listen for any signs of trouble. The silence was deafening, and they continued marching in the eerie calm.

After several minutes, Mercury stopped in front of a door that was larger and more ornate than the others that they had passed.

"This is it," she whispered. Whispering seemed like the proper thing to do.

They might be on the cusp of their destiny, after all.

"Are you getting any readings?"

Mercury's breath came in sharply as she scanned the room. There were two tiny, glowing specs inside of the room.

"I'm getting two energy signatures. They're powerful, but small and they're not moving."

"What do we do?" breathed Sailor Moon.

"Well, we didn't come all this way for nothing," said Rai, itching to get this over with – and if she got to take her frustrations out on some Nega-scum, well that wouldn't be the worst thing.

"Yeah, what are we waiting for?" asked Uranus, stepping to the front of the group and positioning herself between Sailor Moon and the door.

Venus nodded. "Everyone ready? On my count, Jupiter, open the door and fall to the side. We don't know what's in there, but I know what it's in for."

The Senshi nodded and assumed fighting stances, with Neptune and Pluto watching their exposed flanks on either side of the hallway.

"Three. Two. One. Now," Venus breathed, her Love-Me-Chain still ready and charged in her hands.

With a grunt, Jupiter heaved open the door. It moved slowly, its hinges frozen over from years of dormancy. As the door slowly opened, a monstrous rumble reverberated through the hallway and beyond, ear splitting in the otherwise silent depths. Jupiter cursed the noise and fell back into position, wary that they had awoken any long-dormant enemy within a ten-mile radius.

Mars sent a blast of fire inside to light the room so that they were not blind to any enemies inside.

There was a collective gasp as the group of warriors saw the room's contents.

Mars's flames were reflected on more gold and gems than any of them had ever seen. Even though tables were overturned and treasures were scattered across the floor, it was truly a fairy-tale treasure room, complete with glittering diamonds and rubies and piles of gold.

Other than that, the room appeared to be empty; they didn't detect any sign of motion. Mercury watched the energy points for any motion and they hadn't budged an inch.

"They haven't move at all," she announced to the group.

Venus nodded, highly suspicious. "Are you able to locate them in the room?"

"I have pretty precise locations. They're fairly close together, in the back left of the room. I have an eye on them, so if they move at all, we'll know about it."

"Alright, Scouts," said Venus, authority ringing in her voice as the seriousness of the situation sunk in once more. Her poor nerves. "Let's move in. Spread out and establish a perimeter. They start sorting through, looking for anything of interest. Mercury, Jupiter, check out the energy signatures, and be careful. Uranus, Neptune, guard the door and yell at the first sign of trouble. This place looks big enough to teleport from, so let's not mess around. We're not looking for a fight today."

The Senshi nodded and moved in. Mercury attempted to locate the motionless energy signatures with the help of her Mercury Computer; Jupiter was on point to take care of any threats. Lightening crackled in her palms as she scanned their surroundings, waiting for any sign, almost hoping for a reason to unleash the pent up aggression that the emotional roller coaster of the past few days had evoked.

The rest of the Senshi attempted to sort through the glittering jewels that littered the abandoned treasury.

Mars looked with disdain at the overturned tables - such disrespect to such beautiful things, things that had once surely been revered – as were the people who held them.

As she ran her gloved hand through the gold and rubies, she couldn't help think of the sound her heels had made on the golden floors of the Martian Palace, with its ruby-encrusted tapestries and its opulence and its pride. Her steps had rung true like bells; for her, that sound would forever be the sound of her childhood – of controlled rage, boiling just below the surface. Of homecoming.

But this wasn't the time to be so goddamn nostalgic. She squared her jaw and went back to looking - for what, she wasn't absolutely sure, but she knew that she would know it when she saw.

And then her fingers brushed the cloak-clasp and her breath hitched. It was an intricate pattern of yellow and rose gold crafted to look like flames, a ruby-encrusted monstrosity that was a bit too much in every conceivable way.

She had given it to him for his birthday, and he had loved it. Serenity had picked it out; she said it reminded her of Rai, and he had agreed. That jackass.

She remembered the night that she had given it to him, the moon high in the sky and the celebration at the Terran palace in full swing. She was dressed in a bood red dress, her hair pulled off to the side, rubies woven into the glossy strands. It fell long down her back. Just the way he liked it.

She had stolen him away at half past midnight and dragged him out into the gardens. The cool air kissed her too-warm skin, and he didn't protest at all.

He had fumbled with the delicate wrapping and then just stared at it for several seconds. She thought he hated it, and said as much, feeling so embarrassed and like such a failure. With a deep laugh, he had kissed her reddening cheeks and drew her in close, his breath warm in her ear.

As the memories came back, she clutched the clasp so tightly that it pierced through the pristine white fabric of her gloves, drawing blood.

She swore at the universe as she slipped the clasp into her sub-space pocket, praying to anything that was listening to get her out of this fucking place before her claustrophobia killed her or she burned it to the ground. Or both. Even though they were already underground but what-the-fuck-ever.

She struggled to get her breathing back under control before the others realized something was wrong.

She loved them all to death and back (three times and counting), but she needed some time to get her own emotions under control before Serena got a good look at her.

The blonde in question was currently across the room, sifting through a chest with her Prince.

"What is all of this?" she whispered, in awe of the vast fortune around them.

"I think I have an idea…" said Tuxedo Mask. A cold rage had begun to build inside him as he began to recognize things around the room. Treasures from the Terran palace – priceless heirlooms that had been passed down through his family since almost before time began.

He had already found his father's ring, which he quietly slipped on his finger.

"This was Beryl's hoard," he continued, forcing his voice to remain calm, even though he knew Sailor Moon could probably feel the rage coursing through his veins. "She must have moved all of this here when she conquered Earth."

"Oh," said Serena softly, her small hand slipping into his to give a reassuring squeeze.

He tried to smile at her, but was sure it only came out as a grimace.

"Some of these things belonged to my family. This," he said, gesturing to the ring now firmly on his finger, "was my father's ring. And I recognize some of these things from the court…

"Like that," he said, gesturing to a gleaming sapphire necklace that had been carelessly discarded on the floor next to the chest. "That belonged to my aunt. I remember her wearing it to a ball for my parents' anniversary. And that sword? That was my uncle's. He had the emeralds put in the hilt, even though my father told him it was too flashy and he would look like an idiot. But he said they matched his wife's eyes and there was no talking him out of it…"

Serena was about to reach out to comfort him when a tremor went through the room. The piles of gold rattled and shifted, priceless treasures fell into the floor.

"What was that?" gasped Sailor Moon, looking wildly around at her Senshi to make sure that no one was hurt.

"I don't know," said Venus, fear in her eyes. "Uranus? Neptune? Do you see anything out there?"

"Negative," said Uranus. "But that felt powerful."

"Yes," said Neptune, "Maybe it would be in our best interest to get out while we can. Whatever is here must of detected us."

"Right," nodded Venus. "Let's – arghhh!"

She was interrupted as another tremor hit, making her teeth clack together and sending even more gold sliding to the floor with a metallic clang.

"Is everyone alright?" she yelled, looking around at her troops and her Princess.

She could see everyone except for Mercury and Jupiter, who were behind a particularly large stack of gold.

"What was that?" said Jupiter, looking wildly at Mercury.

"I don't know," said the blue-haired Senshi, oddly calm. "But we're so close. We have to find them. I – I have a feeling what this energy might be," she finished with a whisper, eyes hard with an almost reckless determination.

It wasn't like Ami to be reckless.

That's what confirmed it for Lita.

"So you can feel them, too?" breathed the brunette.

Ami nodded. "One should be to your right. I think it's Nephrite – I can feel Zoi to my left. We have to hurry – argh!"

The second tremor hit, shifting the piles around them.

Suddenly, Jupiter gasped and began to clamber over the pile of gold closest to her to get behind it. Mercury saw what she was going for – a green gen glittering brightly a few feet away from her.

She breathed a small sigh of relief for her friend, but she was beginning to panic.

Two tremors had rocked the treasury and Venus was yelling about teleporting and she was so, so close. She had to find him. She would let them leave without her if she had to.

She zeroed in on the energy signature on her visor and began frantically digging through the pile of gold and treasure in front of her.

He should be here. He has to be here.

And then another tremor hit, stronger than the other two combined. She subconsciously took in Venus's screaming her name and the ceiling beginning to rain down on them and the cracks opening on the floor. But he was here and she wasn't leaving without him.

And then Jupiter was next to her, on her hands and knees digging with her.

And there was an ear-shattering groan as the cracks in the floor widened and the gold coins started to fall through, clanging against Selene-knows-what on the way down.

And Uranus had grabbed each of their uniforms and was pulling them away and Mercury pushed her off with a strength she always knew she had.

And Serena was screaming and Mercury could hear the tears in her voice, telling her that they needed to teleport or they were going to die.

And she believed it.

And she didn't care.

And then she saw it, a light blue crystal, the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She scrambled forward and grabbed it as Uranus grabbed her again. She had just enough time to put Zoicite's crystal into her sub-space pocket before Uranus pushed her into position and they joined hands.

And the cracks in the floor opened further and a bright light flashed through the cavern before the darkness swallowed the ancient treasures whole.

They touched down at the Shrine, arguably in one piece. As Uranus gave Mercury a piece of her mind, she realized that she had never seen Ami smile so brightly.

* * *

><p>So, there you have it! PLEASE REVIEW - I would love to know what you thought of this chapter!<p>

- Elle


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